Thursday, December 8, 2005
Forecasting the Bowls
NEW ORLEANS BOWL — Arkansas State (6-5) vs. Southern Mississippi (6-5)
Arkansas State finally ends the North Texas stranglehold on the Sun Belt Conference, but they will provide little competition for Southern Miss. Winner: Southern Miss.
GMAC BOWL — UTEP (8-3) vs. Toledo (8-3)
Both these teams ended the year on the down note. It'll be a close game. Winner: Toledo.
LAS VEGAS BOWL — BYU (6-5) vs. Cal (7-4)
Cal is way down from the level they have been playing at the two years, but they were fortunate enough to draw a weak BYU team. Winner: Cal.
POINSETTIA BOWL — Colorado State (6-5) vs. Navy (6-4)
Could actually be quite a nice game. Colorado State made a run for the Mountain West title, and Navy has clearly established themselves as the best service academy of the present. Winner: Navy.
FORT WORTH BOWL — Kansas (6-5) vs. Houston (6-5)
Also could be a good one, as a great Jayhawk defense takes on a powerful Cougar offense. When in doubt, choose the BCS conference team. Winner: Kansas
HAWAII BOWL — UCF (8-4) vs. Nevada (8-3)
The magical turnaround George O'Leary has conjured from last year's winless campaign will end with an exclamation mark. Winner: Central Florida.
MOTOR CITY BOWL — Akron (7-5) vs. Memphis (6-5)
Memphis will be the favorite, but Akron keeps surprising teams that should beat them. Plus, I'm completely biased for my hometown team. Winner: Akron.
CHAMPS SPORTS BOWL — Clemson (7-4) vs. Colorado (7-5)
The headline after this game will be BARNETT'S COLORADO CAREER ENDS ON AN EMBARRASSING NOTE. Winner: Clemson by a ton.
INSIGHT BOWL — Arizona State (6-5) vs. Rutgers (7-4)
Last time Rutgers earned a bowl bid, it was against Arizona State. Last time they earned a trip to the NCAA basketball tournament, it was against Arizona State. They lost. This time, the Scarlet Knight fans will be happier. Winner: Rutgers.
MPC COMPUTERS BOWL — Boise State (9-3) vs. Boston College (8-3)
Boise's home for this one, but their recent record against BCS teams is nicht sehr gut. Winner: Boston College.
ALAMO BOWL — Michigan (7-4) vs. Nebraska (7-4)
What an exciting matchup this would've been 10 years ago. Winner: Michigan in a rout.
EMERALD BOWL — Utah (6-5) vs. Georgia Tech (7-4)
The Jackets probably deserved a bit better after defeating Miami and Auburn this year. Winner: Georgia Tech.
HOLIDAY BOWL — Oregon (10-1) vs. Oklahoma (7-4)
For the second year in a row, a shafted Pac-10 team will half-heartedly go through the motions in their we-deserved-better bowl and get beaten by an inferior team. Winner: Oklahoma.
SUN BOWL — Northwestern (7-4) vs. UCLA (9-2)
This is an interesting little gem. Take the over. Both teams have had streaks of both overachieving and underachieving this year. Winner: Northwestern in overtime.
INDEPENDENCE BOWL — South Carolina (7-4) vs. Missouri (6-5)
This is the kind of bowl we get when the committee places all their emphasis on the teams' home bases and none on competitiveness. Winner: South Carolina in a laugher.
MUSIC CITY BOWL — Minnesota (7-4) vs. Virginia (6-5)
Virginia looks like they will lose both coordinators to head coaching jobs elsewhere in D1A. Odd, no? Did they recently run off a string of conference championships that I forgot about? Why are we coveting their coaches? Winner: Minnesota.
PEACH BOWL — Miami (9-2) vs. LSU (10-2)
Certainly the most marquee non-BCS matchup. It may not be close, though. Winner: LSU.
MEINEKE CAR CARE BOWL — South Florida (6-5) vs. North Carolina St. (6-5)
South Florida put together a nice little run in their inaugural Big East season. North Carolina State played good second half football for the most part. What did I say earlier about when-in-doubt? Winner: North Carolina State.
HOUSTON BOWL — Iowa State (7-4) vs. TCU (10-1)
How many times are the Cyclones going to throw away the Big 12 North title against an inferior team on the last day of the season? What a bad mojo team. Winner: TCU.
LIBERTY BOWL — Tulsa (8-4) vs. Fresno State (8-4)
It was a tremendous effort the Bulldogs gave against USC, but it's clear now that they used all their turbo points/hearts/coins in that game. And while we are on the video game metaphors, I think of Fresno now as the opponent you are about to beat in the early days of Mortal Kombat, head rolling around his neck, with a voiceover imploring you to "Finish Him!" Winner: Tulsa.
COTTON BOWL — Texas Tech (9-2) vs. Alabama (9-2)
As electrifying as the Red Raider offense is, Texas had no problems shutting it down, and the Alabama defense might be even better. Winner: Alabama.
OUTBACK BOWL — Iowa (7-4) vs. Florida (8-3)
Florida has been quite hit-or-miss this season, and Iowa fell off the radar after high hopes to start the season. Remind me who the Hawkeyes have beaten? Winner: Florida.
GATOR BOWL — Virginia Tech (10-2) vs. Louisville (8-2)
Well, the Hokies die rebound strong from their other embarrassing loss, and the Cardinals are down a quarterback. Winner: Virginia Tech.
CAPITAL ONE BOWL — Auburn (9-2) vs. Wisconsin (9-3)
If they had added the additional BCS game this year instead of next, Auburn would have a strong claim on it. Wisconsin would not. Winner: Auburn.
FIESTA BOWL — Notre Dame (9-2) vs. Ohio State (9-2)
I've spent a lot of energy defending Notre Dame the last few months, but I they seem to lack momentum right now. The opposite is true for the Buckeyes. Winner: Ohio State.
SUGAR BOWL — Georgia (10-2) vs. West Virginia (10-1)
As much as we pick on the Big East for being undeserving a BCS bid, West Virginia put together a strong year. They won't beat Georgia, but it will be close. Winner: Georgia.
ORANGE BOWL — Penn State (10-1) vs. Florida State (8-4)
Am I the only one uninterested with the Bobby Bowden vs. Joe Paterno subplot? What will the announcers talk about once the Nittany Lions go up 21-0 midway through the second quarter? Winner: Penn State.
ROSE BOWL — USC (12-0) vs. Texas (12-0)
It's difficult to imagine this game not being a classic. USC has been challenged more this year, but perhaps only because they play a stronger schedule. I could go either way, but I'm going to stick with what I've been saying all season. Winner: USC.