This is starting to feel a lot like a tradition. For the third straight year I will be laying down the law, writing the prescribed amount and, hopefully, correctly picking the winners in each of the 35 college bowl games that get underway today.
1. Wyoming over Temple. The Pokes can’t let their basketball team outshine them, thus they’ll take down the Owls.
2. Utah State beats Ohio. The Idaho Potato Bowl mashes two of the better, traditionally, lower tiered conference teams together. But “I Believe that… Utah State will win.”
3. San Diego State will beat LA-Lafayette. I watched the movie, ‘Anchorman’ yesterday. So that’s got to be a sign, right?
4. Marshall over Florida International. I’m taking a shot on the Thundering Herd. I learned two years ago that the team that is closest to their home usually does worse. So seeing the Beef’o’Brady St. Petersburg Bowl is next door to FIU then I’m going with Marshall.
5. TCU easy win over Louisiana Tech. Simple as that.
6. Boise State over Arizona State. Kellen Moore deserved to be a Heisman Finalist, Chris Peterson deserves a ton of respect as a coach, and the Broncos will easily cover the nearly two touchdown spread to beat the Sun Devils. ASU has been reeling the last half of the season with their last win coming against Colorado in October.
7. Southern Mississippi beats Nevada. The Golden Eagles unseated Houston in the Conference USA title game, we can just hope the beautiful Hawaii scenery doesn’t distract them.
8. Missouri over North Carolina. Gary Pinkel and the Tigers find a way to get it done, although this game will remain tight throughout.
9. Purdue beats Western Michigan.
10. Louisville beats North Carolina State. These last two have been educated guesses.
11. Air Force over Toledo. You just don’t bet against the Armed Forces in a bowl game, you just don’t do it. These kids deserve a spot in a bowl game every year, even if their record doesn’t reflect it, and they’ll earn it.
12. Texas gets past California. Colt McCoy won his first ever bowl game appearance as a freshman in 2006 in the Alamo Bowl, and Case McCoy will do the same in his first bowl game too. The Longhorns have been hit or miss this year, but they beat the Golden Bears in the Holiday Bowl.
13. Florida beats Notre Dame. This game may be a tossup, but when in doubt choose speed at the college level.
14. Baylor beats Washington. This could be one of the better bowl games out there. Griffin is surging coming over the school’s first ever Heisman so a lot of eyes will be on him. But Washington is sneaky good, 4 of their 5 losses have come to Nebraska, Stanford, Oregon and USC. Watch out for the Huskies who will happily spoil the Bears bowl season.
15. Tulsa beats BYU. I do not like the fact that the Cougars are an independent, and they had their choice of scheduling this year. In three good matchups BYU found itself on the losing end. Tulsa will take it.
16. Rutgers beats Iowa State. The Cyclones played their best game of the year to beat Oklahoma State. But they won’t be able to rekindle the those old feelings against the Scarlet Knights.
17. Mississippi State over Wake Forest. SEC v ACC, then this sounds like a sure-fire pick.
18. Iowa beats Oklahoma. If Ryan Broyles were in the game then this would be an easy pick. But the Sooners losing to Iowa will just prove, once more, how crucial Broyles is to this team.
19. Texas A&M rolls past Northwester. The Wildcats haven’t won a bowl game since 1948 and I think the jump to the SEC for the Aggies will help carry them. The drought will thus continue for Northwestern.
20. Georgia Tech beats Utah. The option offense will be too much to handle, although the Utes front-seven is really good.
21. Vanderbilt beats Cincinnati. To go against what I just practically said, this will be only the second bowl since 1982 for the Commodores and they get it done. They won their final game to get eligibility and James Franklin will carry them to the top.
22. Illinois beats UCLA. Upheaval, and a losing record does not bode well for the Bruins. The Fighting Illini cruise past UCLA.
23. Auburn over Virginia. War Eagle is in transition mode, only returning 6 starters from the National Championship a year ago. It should be seen as a feat rather than a failure when Gene Chizik wins a second straight bowl game.
24. Houston beats Penn State. It is really hard to figure out this game. The Nittany Lions will be surrounded by a media circus which could make it hard to focus on football or give them a much needed kick in the rear to push them to victory. Case Keenum will win his final game amid a trying game for both sides.
25. Michigan State beats Georgia. Although the Bulldogs looked good against LSU the Big 10 is gaining in stature. The Spartans lost in the inaugural championship game and have something to prove this game. Kirk Cousins solidifies his case to be drafted into the NFL.
26. Nebraska over South Carolina. For the first time in a long time the Gamecocks are definitely the second-best team in the great state of South Carolina. The ol’ ball coach may try trickery but Nebraska wins easily.
27. Ohio State beats Florida. The new Florida Gators versus the old Florida Gators. The Bowl Selection Committee probably gets a chuckle out of pitting these two teams against each other. Urban Meyer will take his talents to Columbus next year and this game is likely to be a dogfight down to the wire.
28. Oregon beats Wisconsin. The Ducks, just ahead of the Trojans, were the most impressive team I saw in person this year. They were classy, they clicked and they did nothing to embarrass the Buffs except play their game the right way and win big. Chip Kelly has something in Eugene that is truly special.
29. Oklahoma State beats Stanford. The Cowboys did not deserve to be in the BCS National Title Game, as echoed by Mike Gundy. But once the ‘Pokes’ win, and a possible LSU loss, the debate about the best team in America continues on. (BCS Gods will be smiling.)
30. Michigan beats Virginia Tech. In a game that should be taking place on Christmas Eve rather than January 3rd the Wolverines will win. VT looked bad against Clemson, and Denard Robinson steals the show.
31. Clemson cruises past West Virginia. Dabo Sweeney does everything right for one more game in Miami. How can the Tigers not win at a place called the ‘Orange Bowl’?
32. Kansas State beats Arkansas. Bill Snyder is one of the best coaches ever in college football.
33. Pittsburgh over SMU. June Jones was reported to be leaving, then he wasn’t, then, well who knows. A solid program may be able to handle that kind of strife but I don’t think SMU will have enough.
34. Arkansas State beats Northern Illinois. Why is this bowl game played on this date? I almost just left it off my ballot I’m so disturbed by it.
35. LSU will beat Alabama for the second time this year for the BCS National Championship. ‘Bama had their chance; in Tuscaloosa, missing four field goals and one of the best interceptions of the season on the goal line. They had their chance and now the steamroller that is LSU and Les Miles will easily take it. ‘The Honey-Badger don’t care’, and LSU goes undefeated.
We’ll how beat up these predictions get over the course of the bowl season.
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