 |
| Photo via Jane Maynard A bowl of Fruit Loops, not quite the type of Bowl Games I'm talking about. |
Games that have already occurred
Gildan New Mexico Bowl
(Note to self: Watch this one annually) Colorado State 48 - Washington State 45. This game had everything, a blowout (for one half), an upset, a gunslinger (Connor Halliday), a formerly big school head coach failing at a smaller school (Mike Leach), a 3 minute comeback, stupid turnovers, and a statue of liberty play on a 2-pt conversion with 30 seconds remaining. This game really got my hopes up for the rest of the day.
Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl
USC 45 - Fresno State 20. This game was baaaaaaaad bad stuff. I was barely entertained by two ranked teams including a fun Fresno State team that disappeared at the end of the season. All hopes for a great Saturday in football disappeared with this game.
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
San Diego State 49 - Buffalo 24. Idaho has famous potatoes?
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
Louisiana-Lafayette 24 - Tulane 21. Good first half, horrendously bad second half.
So far on picks, I am 2/4. Not a good sign of things to come.
Games that have yet to happen
Monday, December 23rd
Beef O' Brady's Bowl
Ohio vs. East Carolina. I like East Carolina because I know nothing about either of these teams except for the fact that NFL Running Back Chris Johnson played for the East Carolina Pirates. I think this is how I'll be picking these unranked games, based off of random factoids and horrible guessing. Yep, sounds like a plan.
Pick: East Carolina
Tuesday, December 24th
Sheraton Hawaii Bowl
Boise State vs. Oregon State. I recently viewed an entire Boise State game and while it wasn't the same team from 5 years ago, they're still a fully competent team that will provide a challenge for Oregon State QB Sean Mannion and Receiver Brandin Cooks. I still prefer the Beavers' offense.
Pick: Oregon State
Thursday, December 26th
Little Caesars Bowl
Pittsburgh vs. Bowling Green. I don't believe I saw any Pitt football this season and I now know why as they apparently finished at 6-6. Bowling Green finished 10-3 and looked unbeatable against then-undefeated Northern Illinois.
Pick: Bowling Green
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
Utah State vs. Northern Illinois. I'm fully aware of how good Utah State's defense is but my man-crush on Jordan Lynch knows no bounds. He'll go out on a high note for the Huskies.
Pick: Northern Illinois
Friday, December 27th
Military Bowl
Marshall vs. Maryland. What wild uniforms will the Terrapins bring out for this one? They had a disappointing season but once again, I know zilch about Marshall's 2013 season other than they don't play in the ACC. Give me the funky jerseys.
Pick: Maryland
Texas Bowl
Syracuse vs. Minnesota. I find it insulting that the title of this bowl game is so misleading. I was at least hoping for a Texas A&M vs. TCU. Jerry Kill's season has had it's serious downs and minor ups but hopefully it will end on a giant high note.
Pick: Minnesota
Fight Hunger Bowl
BYU vs. Washington. Two run heavy offenses that started the season hot have struggled to find consistencies in their offenses. Chances are it's too late to find that consistency.
Pick: Washington
Saturday, December 28th
New Era Pinstripe Bowl
Rutgers vs. Notre Dame. I don't know of anyone who predicted Notre Dame to go from BCS Championship game to New Era Pinstripe Bowl. There's still plenty of talent on this team, it's just not as prevalent as 2012's Fighting Irish.
Pick: Notre Dame
Belk Bowl
Cincinnati vs. North Carolina. There were plenty of whispers this off-season about North Carolina being a good football team with a strong defense. After giving up 55 to East Carolina, all of those whispers were silenced and NC lost 4 straight. After ending the season 6-6 as compared to Cincinnati's 9-3 record, I'm not sure how I could trust the Tar Heels to win a big game here.
Pick: Cincinnati
Russell Athletic Bowl
Miami (FL) vs. Louisville. Teddy Bridgewater has been clutch as of recent while Miami (FL) has shown very little offensively. Louisville has enough going for them offensively that they should be able to compete with a tough Miami defense.
Pick: Louisville
Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl
Kansas State vs. Michigan. Kansas State has looked a few steps ahead of mediocre this year just as Michigan did at certain points. However, Michigan really turned on the jets and saw Devin Gardener's most developed game as a quarterback against Ohio State. I don't know if that can last but I'll take my chances on #98.
Pick: Michigan
Monday, December 30th 2013
Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl
Middle Tennessee vs. Navy. I know absolutely nothing about Middle Tennessee but I did see Navy manhandle a bad Army team for the twelfth year in a row. I like how Navy runs the ball. That's it really. You weren't expecting such flawless input on the Armed Forces Bowl, were you?
Pick: Navy
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl
Ole Miss vs. Georgia Tech. Judging from the panic attack America had after Georgia Tech upset Florida, I suppose Georgia Tech football is not known for their success. Ole Miss is the exact opposite as they have a long and storied history with both Archie and Eli Manning and present day quarterback Bo Wallace. Ole Miss has yet to impress me but they should be able to handle the Yellow Jackets.
Pick: Ole Miss
Alamo Bowl
Oregon vs. Texas. Mack Brown coaching his final game would usually be enough motivation for his team to walk away victorious. This game is different though as the Longhorns' opponents are the Oregon Ducks who are led by Marcus Mariota and practically unstoppable on offense. This'll be a good 'ol fashioned shootout.
Pick: Oregon
Holiday Bowl
Arizona State vs. Texas Tech. I was one of the highest on Kliff Kingsbury's new team, Texas Tech, in the offseason and thought I was looking pretty good after the first month until things started crumbling apart as TT just proved to be another average college team. Arizona State won the first half of the season with their defense and RB Marion Grice until injuries slowed down Grice. QB Taylor Kelly has responded well and I think he has the smarts to give Arizona State a win next Monday.
Pick: Arizona State
Tuesday, December 31st
AdvoCare V100 Bowl
Arizona vs. Boston College. Heisman finalist Andre Williams and big play gainer Ka'deem Carey battle in the match-up of 2 of the best running backs in college football. QB B.J. Denker is the only advantage I can find in this match-up.
Pick: Arizona
Hyundai Sun Bowl
Virginia Tech vs. UCLA. Jim Mora's done his best job of coaching this season. Virginia Tech has not been very relevant since Michael Vick's brother graduated. UCLA was a fairly strong team throughout the season and now they only get relegated to the Sun Bowl? Hmmm...
Pick: UCLA
Liberty Bowl
Rice vs. Mississippi State. I'd like to apologize to fans/alums of both teams but I know nothing about this game other than I am a fan of the food Rice but know them more for their basketball team. I'll take Miss State!
Pick: Mississippi State
Chick-fil-A Bowl
Duke vs. Texas A&M. This game would be a lot more interesting if Duke had their regular-season record against some decent football teams. Johnny Manziel's likely final game will have some big plays from the aforementioned Johnny Football.
Pick: Texas A&M
Wednesday, January 1st 2014 *Happy New Year*
Capital One Bowl
Wisconsin vs. South Carolina. I'm not huge on either team's passing games and both defenses have underperformed in key situations. This will come down to whether or not Jadeveon Clowney wants to be the first pick and whether or not South Carolina can stop Wisconsin's run game.
Pick: South Carolina
Gator Bowl
Nebraska vs. Georgia. Georgia is down a majority of their receivers but have survived without those players and more. One problem is that they've never played without QB Aaron Murray who has a torn ACL and now leaves them with one gaping error on offense. Nebraska is also minus their starting quarterback so this game is unlike any others in that I'm not certain that the quarterbacks will play a big role in this game.
Pick: Georgia
Heart of Dallas Bowl
UNLV vs. North Texas. Can't say I've seen North Texas play but UNLV has been quietly okay for a while now. The title of this game sounds like a straight up turf war.
Pick: UNLV
Outback Bowl
Iowa vs. LSU. This game should be played in Australia, with rugby rules, and a kangaroo halftime show. One team is coached by Les Miles, the other team is Iowa.
Pick: LSU
Rose Bowl (This one is important)
Stanford vs. Michigan State. Stanford has a very good offense with quite a good balance of rushing and passing plays. Their defense also shut down Oregon before the fourth quarter of that November 7th game. Michigan State has not shown that level of offense but the defense has been the best in college. This game will be boring at times potentially but look out for an exciting conclusion.
Pick: Michigan State
Fiesta Bowl
Central Florida vs. Baylor. The team on the correct end of most upsets this season (UCF) is facing this year's Oregon (Baylor) in the game I am most looking forward to. Bryce Petty and the Seastrunk/Linwood/Martin combo v. UCF's defense should be a great match-up of field smarts.
Pick: Baylor
Thursday, January 2nd 2014
Sugar Bowl
Oklahoma vs. Alabama. A.J. McCarron in his final college game with Nick Saban coaching. Oklahoma is nice and everything buuuuut...
Pick: Alabama
Friday, January 3rd 2014
Cotton Bowl
Oklahoma State vs. Missouri. For the entire regular season I was convinced that Oklahoma State had all the makings of a top ten team EXCEPT for a Quarterback. As it turns out, Clint Chelf isn't too shabby. Missouri's defense has had it's better moments but I see another shootout happening in Dallas.
Pick: Missouri
Orange Bowl
Clemson vs. Ohio State. Seriously!? They scheduled the Cotton and Orange Bowls at the same time? They have 3 weeks of bowl games and could not find a proper time slot to swap one of these two games into? (End rant). Tajh Boyd vs. Braxton Miller in the battle of cannon pass attempts. I like Tajh Boyd's arm but Braxton Miller's legs will take over the game at some point.
Pick: Ohio State
Saturday, January 4th 2014
BBVA Compass Bowl
Vanderbilt vs. Houston. Another match-up of big passing teams. I love Vandy WR Jordan Matthews and Houston's D isn't great.
Pick: Vanderbilt
Sunday, January 5th 2014
GoDaddy Bowl
Arkansas State vs. Ball State. One more irrelevant game that's buried on an NFL Sunday while the NFL playoffs begin. Another wicked guess on my part.
Pick: BALLLLLL SO HARD UNIVERSITY (clears throat) Ball State
Monday, January 6th 2014
BCS CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Florida State vs. Auburn. Jameis Winston and Jimbo Fisher's excellent receiving corps versus Auburn's phenomenal run game. All the analysis that needs to be done, will be done and covered by every media outlet. Unfortunately, I see another blowout sticking with Florida State's 2013 theme.
Pick: Florida State 41 - Auburn 24
Enjoy the bowl season! but don't enjoy too much or you'll suffer from bowl game hangover before the most important game.
 |
| Photo via Mike Olivella |
No comments:
Post a Comment