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.
December 8, 2005
stjohnsmythe:
weak BYU team? Maybe. But in the next line down you praise Colorado State (who have the same record as BYU in the same conference, and who lost to BYU) for “making a run at the Mounain West Title”
As far as Georgia Tech deserving better, maybe you’re right (heaven knows, as a BYU fan I HATE UTAH) but don’t you think Utah deserved A LOT better in the Fiesta Bowl last year? Turnabout is fairplay I guess.
December 8, 2005
boo hoo:
byu is weak, they have been for years. if byu doesn’t play that community college, they wouldn’t be playing in a bowl this year.
December 8, 2005
Jeff:
Is it bad that I didn’t even know BYU was in a bowl this season? I guess it’s not as bad that I just don’t care. Some interesting picks, and while I don’t agree with some of them (Music City, Fiesta, Peach, Rose) that’s the beauty of betting pools and such for this kind of thing. Either way the Rose Bowl is going to be one for the ages.
December 9, 2005
Jared Cowley:
BYU isn’t as weak as you think this year. Cal may win, but it will be a close, exciting game. Watch and see.
December 9, 2005
Kevin Beane:
It’s always easy to tell, based on the comments, what school’s message board has linked to your article. Thanks for the pub, BYU. I will watch and see as Jared suggested.
In terms of my Colorado State making a run comment, I was referring to the fact that they were in second place with an opportunity to take first place going into the TCU game. IIRC, BYU’s a larger portion of BYU’s losses came earlier, the Rams losses, later.
December 9, 2005
GP:
Why don’t you just stamp EAST COAST BIAS on your forehead.
70% of the projected winners are geographically further east than their opponent.
December 9, 2005
thickest_hawaii:
BYU is in a very weak conference. The only bright spot in the MWC was TCU until they crapped out and lost to SMU. Please remind me the last time BYU beat a BCS school???? Cal will run them over, just like Utah did with their 2nd string QB and 4th string WR’s.
December 10, 2005
Mark Stoddard:
Bias? 12 western teams in bowls and you pick ONLY USC to win 1-11 for western teams. What a drooler…
December 11, 2005
Kevin Beane:
Cal isn’t a west coast team?
Not that that makes a big difference. I’m surprised to find how much bias I have considering I’ve been defending the PAC 10 all year in the Sports Central message boards. I think two west coast teams - Freson State and Oregon - are better than their counterparts, but on serious tilt. If I’m just picking the team with the most talent, I have the west coast teams going, what, 4-7 in bowls? I also find it interesting the people accusing me of bias opted not to select any specific games where my “bias” was leading me down the wrong path.
December 13, 2005
stjohnsmythe:
thickest_hawaii - The last time BYU beat a BCS school was Notre Dame last year.