Bowl Games: Main Course

All right folks, though this is being posted before the end of tonight’s game, I’ve updated my main predictions and my competition with my erstwhile brother, who is way behind in predictions. I even managed to get the Emerald Bowl score completely correct.

Anyway, now it’s time for the New Year’s Eve and Day games, the main course of the bowl season buffet. As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Dec. 31:

  • Air Force vs. California, Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl (12:30, ESPN): Well, for starters, it’s a bowl named in honor of the armed forces, so obviously it confers Air Force an advantage. Also, Cal is terrible and was last seen losing to Stanford. So I’m calling Air Force.
  • Oregon vs. South Florida, Brut Sun Bowl (2:00, CBS): I don’t expect a lot of points here, at least out of Oregon at any rate. This probably won’t be very exciting, but the alternatives abound. (Not really.) USF wins.
  • Fresno State vs. Georgia Tech, Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl (2:00, ESPN2): Woooooo. Predicing GT out of blatant homerism more than anything else. I can only how we bother to show up unlike the last time we were on the west coast.
  • Kentucky vs. Florida State, Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl (4:00, ESPN): It should come as no surprise I’m picking Kentucky here. FSU will do good to score as many points as they had players suspended, in all likelihood.
  • Oklahoma State vs. Indiana, Insight Bowl (5:30, NFL): The latest in bowl games you probably can’t watch even if you wanted to! Yes, that’s right kids, Indiana’s return to post-season won’t be seen by you! I picked Indiana and I can’t remember why, so there.
  • Clemson vs. Auburn, Chick-fil-a Bowl (7:30, ESPN): This is probably, by far, the most worthwhile game of the day. I will guarantee you that the Tigers will win! Hah! See what I did there? I bet no one’s thought of that before!
    (Ahem.) Anyway, I personally like Clemson here. They have a pretty darn good offense, and Auburn has been inconsistent at best.

Jan. 1:

  • Wisconsin vs. Tennessee, Outback Bowl (11:00, ESPN): Who’s idea was it to have games before noon on New Year’s Day? I’ve been trying to figure this out for years. Anyway, I’ve thought Wisconsin is an overrated team in a bad conference, while Tennessee is pretty decent. So I like the Vols here.
  • Missouri vs. Arkansas, AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic (11:30, FOX): Missouri: likes to pass. Arkansas: can’t pass. I think the Mizzou will just air it out over Arkansas’s heads all day long, though there’s always a chance Darren McFadden could make it interesting.
  • Florida vs. Michigan, Capital One Bowl (1:00, ABC): I’ll be honest here. I don’t think Michigan stands a chance. We watched fast, athletic teams run all over this Michigan team all year and I don’t see any reason why they’ll suddenly start succeeding here.
  • Virginia vs. Texas Tech, Konica Minolta Gator Bowl (1:00, CBS): The Gator hosts an over-achieving ACC team the second year in a row. I don’t think there’s any way UVA can keep up with the Texas Tech offense.
  • Illinois vs. Southern California, The Rose Bowl Game presented by Citi (4:30, ABC): Here’s another blow-out worthy game, as once again I’m giving the Big Ten little chance. (Notice a theme here?)
  • Georgia vs. Hawaii, AllState Sugar Bowl (8:30, FOX): Sigh. My heart says Hawaii while my brain says Georgia. So, against everything I stand for, I’m picking the Dogs.

Anyway, sorry for the rush job there, haven’t lots of time. I’ll be back late New Year’s Day to take you through the finale of this bowl season.