Category Archives: bowl games

Bowl Games 2012: Part 2

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Wednesday, December 26
7:30: Western Kentucky vs. Central Michigan (Little Caesars Pizza Bowl @ Detroit, MI; ESPN): I’m once again finding myself in the odd position of predicting a Sun Belt team to win, but the Hilltoppers were pretty good on the season, while CMU barely got into a bowl.
Previous meetings: This is the first meeting between these teams.
Last bowl game: This is Western Kentucky’s first ever bowl game. Central Michigan last appeared in the 2009/10 GMAC Bowl, where they beat Troy State 44-41.
Announcers: Mark Neely, Ray Bentley
Fun facts: Western Kentucky’s mascot is an amorphous blob named Big Red. Yes, really.

Thursday, December 27
3:00: Bowling Green State vs. San Jose State (Military Bowl @ Washington, DC; ESPN): I have this being a close game with San Jose State coming out ahead. It’s hard to get a feel for these WAC teams, after all. That said, I’m not going back on my prediction here.
Previous meetings: This is the first meeting between these teams.
Last bowl game: SJSU’s last bowl was the 2006 New Mexico Bowl, where the beat New Mexico 20-12. BGSU’s last appearance was the memorable wacky 2009 Humanitarian Bowl, which they ended up losing to Idaho 43-42.
Announcers: Bob Wischusen, Danny Kanell

6:30: Duke vs. Cincinnati (Belk Bowl @ Charlotte, NC; ESPN): I don’t think Duke really has much of a shot in this one, then again, I didn’t think Kent State had much of a shot against Cincy either. That’ll teach me to have any confidence at all in a Big East team, I suppose.
Previous meetings: This is the first meeting between these teams.
Last bowl game: Duke’s last bowl game was the 1994/5 Hall of Fame Bowl, where they lost 34-20 to Wisconsin. Cincy dispatched Vanderbilt in last year’s Liberty Bowl, 31-24.
Announcers: Mike Patrick, Ed Cunningham

9:45: California-Los Angeles vs. Baylor (Holiday Bowl @ San Diego, CA; ESPN): I have this as 31-28 UCLA on my predictions page, but I’m still afraid that’s not going to be enough points. That said, the odds of the Baylor “defense” getting enough stops to make a difference is pretty low.
Previous meetings: This is the first meeting between these teams.
Last bowl game: We can only hope that this game is as memorable as Baylor’s last encounter with a Pac-12 team. This is their third straight bowl. The beat Washington 67-56 in last year’s Alamo Bowl. UCLA appeared in last year’s Fights Hunger Bowl, which they lost to Illinois 20-14.
Announcers: Dave Pasch, Brian Griese

Friday, December 28
2:00: Ohio vs. Louisiana-Monroe (Independence Bowl @ Shreveport, LA; ESPN): Ohio looked to be a force in the MAC this year, that is, until they dropped 4 of their last 5 conference games. Whoops. While in general these things don’t make that much of a difference, here it’s enough for me to take a Sun Belt team by a slight margin.
Previous meetings: This is the first meeting between these teams.
Last bowl game: This is the Bobcat’s fourth straight bowl. They beat Utah State 24-23 in last year’s Potato Bowl. This is Monroe’s first ever bowl game.
Announcers: Dave Lamont, Kelly Stouffer

5:30: Rutgers vs. Virginia Tech (Russell Athletic Bowl @ Orlando, FL; ESPN): I hope you don’t like points, because this could get ugly. It’s almost mind-blowing how bad the Virginia Tech offense was this year. Maybe they’ll figure out it for the bowl game, but, well, I’m thinking they probably won’t. Still tough to pick a Big East team here, though, so my confidence here is low.
Previous meetings: There were two one-off meetings in 1920 and 1953, but after that all meetings where in the framework for the Big East from 1992-2003. VPI leads the all-time series 11-3, with them winning the last 11 in a row.
Last bowl game: Rutgers beat Iowa State 27-13 in last year’s Pinstripe Bowl. This is VPI’s 20th straight bowl game, with their most recent postseason effort being a 23-20 loss in last season’s Sugar Bowl.
Announcers: Joe Tessitore, Matt Millen

9:00: Texas Tech vs. Minnesota (Car Care Bowl @ Houston, TX; ESPN): I had TTU winning big originally, but I wonder how bad Tommy Tuberville’s hasty exit will affect the team. Then again, there are still players on this team that remember how unceremoniously Mike Leach was fired, so perhaps they’ll still have the mental fortitude to go out and dismantle the Golden Gophers (reminder: they were 2-6 in Big Ten play this year) like they should.
Previous meetings: These two teams have met exactly once, in the 2006 Insight Bowl. Texas Tech won in overtime, 44-41.
Last bowl game: This is TTU’s first bowl appearance since 2010, where they beat Northwestern 45-38 in the Ticket City Bowl. Minnesota also makes their first appearance for a while, with their last postseason effort being a 14-13 loss to Iowa State in the 2009 Insight Bowl.
Announcers: Mark Jones, Brock Huard

Bowl Games 2012: Opening Slate

New for this year: announcers! Last year’s “fun facts” return only for selected games, as least for the opening slate here as I have not had enough time to to do my research.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Saturday, December 15
1:00: Arizona vs. Nevada (New Mexico Bowl @ Albuquerque, NM; ESPN): Arizona’s been a pretty solid team in the last half of the season, with the cornerstone of their year the upset over USC. Nevada has an okay year, by their standards. They made a bowl again, but I believe they were one of the preseason favorites in the Mountain West and they wound up dropping games all the teams they needed to beat. Anyway, in this cats vs. dogs battle, I like the Wildcats.
Previous meetings: This is the first time these two schools in neighboring states have met since 1941. Nevada won in 1924, they played a 0-0 draw in 1925, and then the Wildcats go on the board in 1941 with a win.
Last bowl game: This is Arziona’s first appearance in a bowl game since the 2010 Alamo Bowl, which they lost to Oklahoma State 36-10. Nevada has made a bowl every year since 2005, and actually played in this game in 2007. They lost to hosts New Mexico, 23-0.
Announcers: Bob Wischusen, Danny Kannel

4:30: Utah State vs. Toledo (Potato Bowl @ Boise, ID; ESPN): While Toledo did get a big upset this year (a win over Big East frontrunners Cincinnati), Utah State was 5 points away from an undefeated season (2 to Wisconsin, who I remind you are somehow the Big Ten champions, and 3 to BYU). They also upset WAC frontrunners Louisiana State, in Louisiana. I’m going with the Aggies.
Previous meetings: Somewhat unsurprisingly, this is the first meeting between these two schools.
Last bowl game: Utah State appeared in this game last year, losing to Ohio 24-23. Toledo is making its third straight bowl appearance. They beat Air Force in the Military Bowl last year, 42-41.
Announcers: Tom Hart, Mike Bellotti
Fun facts:

Hope everyone is as excited as we are! #Toledo vs. #UtahState twitter.com/IDPotatoBowl/s…
— FamousIDPotatoBowl (@IDPotatoBowl) December 3, 2012

Yes, that is a picture of Brono Stadium set inside of a baked potato. I don’t feel like I really need to say much else.

Thursday, December 20
8:00: Brigham Young vs. San Diego State (Poinsettia Bowl @ San Diego, CA; ESPN): BYU is a pretty good team, but their offense has just been sadly lacking in the second half of the season. I’m not putting a lot of confidence on this one, though.
Previous meetings: Thanks to a shared conference history in the WAC and then the MWC, these two have met quite a lot (every year from 1978 to 2010). However, since BYU went independent, they haven’t played. The Stormin’ Mormons are 27-7-1 against the Aztecs.
Last bowl game: BYU has played in a bowl game every year since 2005, most recently beating Tulsa in last year Armed Forces Bowl. This’ll be the Aztech’s third straight, and they’ll be staying home once again. They got to travel to New Orleans last year, where they lost to the local Cajuns 32-30.
Announcers: Carter Blackburn, Rod Gilmore

Friday, December 21
7:30: Central Florida vs. Ball State (Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl @ St. Petersburg, FL; ESPN): UCF went big this year, but they failed to get the result that presumably would’ve made the impending NCAA banhammer worth it, as they lost to Tulsa in the CUSA title game. Ball State, meanwhile. enters on a relative high note, having closed their season in strong fashion against their MAC rivals. That said, I think on paper UCF is still the better team, so I’ll go with them here.
Previous meetings: Ball State owns the all-time series, 2-1.
Last bowl game: We last saw Ball State in the 2008/9 GMAC Bowl, where they were obliterated by Tulsa 45-13. This’ll be UCF’s first bowl appearance since the wonderful 2010 Liberty Bowl, where they beat Georgia 10-6.
Announcers: Dave Neal, Andre Ware, Desmond Howard

Saturday, December 22
Noon: East Carolina vs. Louisiana-Lafayette (New Orleans Bowl @ New Orleans, LA; ESPN): I’m not going to pick Sun Belt teams to win very often, but here we are. UL-Lafayette has flirted with greatness several times this year, while ECU scraped their way to 8 wins.
Previous meetings: From 1977 to 1990, these teams met 10 times and UL-Lafayette came out ahead, 6-4. They have not met since.
Last bowl game: ECU had a modest bowl streak broken last year, so they last appeared in a bowl game in the 2010 Military Bowl. They got blown out by Maryland 51-20. These particular Cajuns last Raged in last year’s New Orleans Bowl, where they beat San Diego State 32-30.
Announcers: Beth Mowins, Joey Galloway

3:30: Washington vs. Boise State (Las Vegas Bowl @ Las Vegas, NV; ESPN): It took a week, but here’s our first real bowl game of the season. This is just the sort of situation Boise has thrived on the past, that is to say, 1-game chances to pick off a Pac-10/12 opponent. That said, with this particular bunch I would ordinarily pick the Huskies here but, well, one of these teams lost to Washington State Thankgiving weekend, and it wasn’t Boise. I’ll take the Broncos in a narrow win.
Previous meetings: These two have met exactly once, in 2007. U-Dub won 24-10.
Last bowl game: This’ll be Washington’s third straight bowl game, and third different locale. They lost last year’s (in)famously defense-less Alamo Bowl to Baylor, 67-56. Boise’s been to a bowl every year since 2002, and they only missed 2001 because there weren’t a million bowl games back then. (They were 8-4.) They won last year’s Las Vegas Bowl 56-24 over Arizona State.
Announcers: Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit. Ol’ Brent at the Las Vegas Bowl? I swear, the jokes just practically write themselves.

Monday, December 24
8:00: Southern Methodist vs. Fresno State (Hawaii Bowl @ Honolulu, HI; ESPN): June Jones is back in Hawaii! Woo? Fresno has generally beat the teams they should beat this year, while SMU lost to Tulane and Rice, barely getting to 6-6. I like the Bulldogs.
Previous meetings: SMU and Fresno met every year between 1999 and 2004. It didn’t go so well for the Mustangs, as Fresno is 5-1 all-time.
Last bowl game: This is SMU’s fourth straight bowl. They beat Pittsburgh in last year’s BBVA Compass Bowl, 28-6. Fresno had a pretty good thing going for awhile, but they missed a bowl last year so their last postseason game was the 2010 Humanitarian Bowl, which they lost 40-17 to Northern Illinois.
Announcers: Carter Blackburn, Kelly Stouffer

Bowl Games 2011: Epilogue

Wherein this post has had more advance planning than LSU’s offense apparently did last night.

The final tally is up over in the usual place. This year I managed to predict 24 games correctly. I honestly didn’t think I was doing that well until I looked back over the index. I’ve been doing this since the 1999 season, and this is the best I’ve ever done by a pretty decent margin. With 24 games correct and 11 wrong, I had a winning percentage of 68.57%. The last time I broke 60% was in 2006, and before this year my previous best percentage was in 2004, with 64.29%.

So, yeah, go me! Too bad I didn’t allocate my confidence points correctly on ESPN, but alas.

As we prepare to enter what will for sure be another turbulent offseason, I have to say this has been one of the strangest seasons I can remember. Unfortunately, this isn’t due to anything that happened on the field (2007 still holds that title), but more because it felt like each scandal that broke this year was trying to top the next. First Ohio State surprised us, then Miami shocked us (well, that was more the extent; I doubt anyone was surprised that there was a scandal at Miami), but then Penn State did both and then some.

As per usual, this site will be more dormant over the next eight months, with occasional posts on soccer and baseball. But at some point the dust from various lawsuits will settle and everyone’s out-of-conference schedules will be known. Then I will rank them and tell you about them, and then try to get a post up once a week detailing that weekend’s games.

So, until then.

Quick addendum: apparently this is my 400th post on this website. Thanks for reading!

Bowl Games 2011: The Last One

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Monday, January 9
9:00: Louisiana State vs. Alabama (BCS Championship Game @ New Orleans, LA; ESPN): Let’s get this out of the way: this isn’t going to be 9-6 again. I didn’t say it was going to be high scoring, mind you, just that someone is probably going to score a touchdown this time around. (Not necessarily an offensive touchdown, though.) Both of these teams are really, really good. But I can’t really pick Alabama. For starters, LSU already been them in Tuscaloosa. Secondly, that game came down to special teams, and I think we’ll see a repeat of that here, and that really is the Crimson Tide’s Achilles’ Heel.
Previous meetings: Depending on the site you look at, Alabama either leads the series 45-24-5 or 45-23-5, depending the status of either team in 1895. And of course, neither counts the game they already played this year, so really it’s either 45-25-5 or 45-24-5. Anyway, both teams have been playing each other for a long time, though before the standardization of conference scheduling they tended to play off-and-on in blocks, meaning they have only been meeting consecutively since 1964. Alabama was the dominate team in the series before 2000, though, going 42-15-5. LSU is 9-3 since then, though, reflecting the reversal in fortunate for both teams over the past 11 years, including 5 straight LSU wins during the Bama Dark Ages of 2003-2007 (also conveniently bookending seasons in which LSU won national titles). Nick Saban went 4-1 against Alabama during his tenure at LSU, with the only loss coming in 2002.
Last bowl game: LSU is in their 12th straight bowl game. The first game in the streak was a 28-14 win over Georgia Tech in the 2000 Peach Bowl. Last season, they beat Texas A&M 41-24 in the Cotton Bowl. Alabama is appearing in their eighth straight bowl game, the first of which was a 20-16 loss to Minnesota in the 2004 Music City Bowl.
Fun facts: The University of Alabama SGA (Student Government Association) is known as “The Machine” due to its propensity for cranking out Alabama politicians.

Bowl Games 2011: Part 5

As the “New Year’s Day” games wrap up, here’s a preview of the other five games before the last one next week.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Tuesday, January 3
8:00: Michigan vs. Virginia Tech (Sugar Bowl @ New Orleans, LA; ESPN): Why is VPI in this game? I’m nominally an ACC partisan and even I’m not sure. At any rate, VPI had no answer for Tajh Boyd, and if they couldn’t contain him, it’s extremely difficult to see how they’ll stop Denard Robinson. That’s not to say this’ll be a blowout like those two Clemson games, but I just think this’ll be a more low scoring contest and that Michigan will make enough plays to win.
Previous meetings: None.
Last bowl game: This will be VPI’s 19th consecutive bowl game, good for the 3rd longest streak in the country. The streak began in 1993 with a 45-20 win over Indiana in the Independence Bowl. Last year, they got destroyed by Stanford in the Orange Bowl, 40-12. This is Michigan’s second straight bowl appearance. Last year, they lost to Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl, 52-14.
Fun facts: I call it “VPI” because the full name of the university is actually “Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University” and that’s what old-time residents of the Commonwealth (like my late grandfather) called it. It also provides me a way to be absolutely clear to what “Tech” in the ACC I refer to on this website, which is to say, the one in Georgia. It’s also an important reminder why the answer to the trivia question “how many schools in Division I-A football do not have ‘university’ in their name” is five: the three service academics, Boston College, and Georgia Tech.

Wednesday, January 4
8:00: Clemson vs. West Virginia (Orange Bowl @ Miami Gardens, FL; ESPN): The winner of this game depends entirely on which Clemson team shows up. Are going to get the offensive juggernaut that went 8-0 and then demolished Virginia Tech in the ACC Championship Game? Ore the one that went 1-3 with losses to Georgia Tech and NC State, got blown out by their in-state rival, and needed a last-second field goal to beat Wake Forest? I’m going to go with the Tigers, but very, very cautiously.
Previous meetings: Only one, back in the 1988-89 Gator Bowl. Clemson won 27-7.
Last bowl game: This is Clemson’s seventh straight bowl game. They lost in last year’s Car Care Bowl (now the Belk Bowl) 31-26 to South Florida. WVU is making its 10th straight bowl appearance. The streak started back in 2002 with a loss in what was then the Tire Bowl (then the Car Care Bowl and now the Belk Bowl) to Virginia, 48-22. Last year they lost to NC State in the Champs Sports Bowl 23-7.
Fun facts: Somewhat famously, West Virginia’s campus features a personal rapid transit system. It’s basically a mini-elevated rail system used to move students around the campus, which is separated into three distinct parts that, due to history and geography, are about two miles apart. In total, the line contains five stations and covers 8.65 miles.

Friday, January 6
8:00: Kansas State vs. Arkansas (Cotton Bowl @ Arlington, TX; FOX): K-State is 10-2, but those two losses came to a couple of the best passing attacks in the country. Arkansas is also in that category. However, Arkansas has trouble against the run, and that’s what these Wildcats do best. I think both of these teams will get their points, but that the Razorbacks will come out ahead in the end.
Previous meetings: Four. Back in 1910, the Wildcats won 5-0, which they followed up with a 3-0 win in 1911. They also beat Arkansas 16-7 in 1926. The last meeting was in 1967, when the Razorbacks got on the board with a 28-7 win.
Last bowl game: This is K-State’s second straight bowl game. Last year, they lost to Syracuse in the Pinstripe Bowl, 36-34. This is Arkansas’s third straight postseason appearance. They lost to Ohio State in last year’s Sugar Bowl, 31-26.
Fun facts: Here’s how you get a stadium named after you. By 1989, Kansas State had the losingest football program in history at 299-509-41 (or thereabouts, it sort of depends on who you ask). Bill Synder has changed all that, though. In his original tenure, from 1989-2005, the Wildcats amassed a 135-58-1 record good for the 10th-winningest team in that period. Of course, the subsequent Ron Prince era was a little rocky, which is how you get invited back to coach once again.

Saturday, January 7
1:00: Southern Methodist vs. Pittsburgh (BBVA Compass Bowl @ Birmingham, AL; ESPN): Both of these schools have been in the headlines so far this offseason, though mostly for the dalliances of their coaches. Todd Grahm left for his “dream job” at Arizona State, leaving behind a locker room of pissed off players. June Jones, meanwhile, was moments away from that same job, but had his offer withdrawn at the last minute. So which is worse: abandoning your team without warning, or attempting to abandon your team without warning and then having it backfire on you at the last moment, forcing you to go back to Dallas and say “no, see, I almost got that other job but I really want to be here!” I guess we’re about to find out, because on paper I’m giving SMU the edge.
Previous meetings: Five, but only one back in SMU’s glory days in the 80’s. SMU won the first game in 1938, and lost 34-7. Two years later the teams were locked in a 7-7 tie, and then in 1942 Pitt won 20-7. SMU then won 33-14 in 1948. They finally met again in the 1982-83 Cotton Bowl, when SMU managed a 7-3 victory.
Last bowl game: SMU is making its third straight bowl appearance. Last year they went to the nearby Armed Forces Bowl, where they lost to Army 16-14. Pitt is making its fourth straight bowl game and second straight appearance in this very bowl. Last year they beat Kentucky, 27-10.
Fun facts: Pitt is famous for its Cathedral of Learning, which is the second tallest educational building in the world. It’s 535 feet tall and has 42 stories, and contains many of the school’s classrooms and meeting rooms.

Sunday, January 8
9:00: Arkansas State vs. Northern Illinois (godaddy.com Bowl @ Mobile, AL; ESPN): This is almost required viewing, just for the offensive fireworks alone. (Don’t let Arkansas State’s 20th ranked defense fool you.) I’d say something along the lines of “well, NIU’s rushing attack should let them use up the clock” except that they won a game 63-60 earlier this year without the aid of any overtime periods. I think in the end the Huskies’ offense will just be too potent.
Previous meetings: As ASU began their transition back to Division I-A, the two teams met 7 straight times starting in 1990. Based on that, it’s not too surprising the Huskies won the first 5 games and usually by pretty comfortable margins. The Red Wolves broke through win their only win in the series in 1995, 28-21 victory, and then went right back to losing with a 31-30 loss in 1996, the two teams’ last meeting.
Last bowl game: Arkansas State is making its first bowl appearance since the 2005 New Orleans Bowl, where lost to Southern Miss, 31-19. That game was also their first ever bowl game. The Huskies, meanwhile, are making their fourth straight bowl game. Last year they destroyed Fresno State in the then-Humanitarian Bowl (now the Potato Bowl), 40-17.
Fun facts: godaddy.com is a domain registrar. I would highly recommend against utilizing their services.