Because no one asked for it, I’ll be talking about the game for the rest of the night, just for no other reason than because I can. The comments will be in the, well, comments.

There are less than two hours left before the bowl season starts, but I guess now is as good a time as ever to make my predictions on the first week and a half of the postseason. Here are my thoughts (all times Eastern)…

TCU vs. Northern Illinois, The San Diego County Credit Union Bowl (ESPN2, Dec. 19, 8 PM): The CFP picked TCU, and I don’t see why to go against it. Northern Illinois lost to Western Michigan, Iowa, and Toledo. Ouch.

BYU vs. Oregon, The Pioneer Pure Vision Las Vegas Bowl (ESPN2, Dec. 21, 8 PM): Oregon’s only marquee win was the non-win against Oklahoma. BYU looked better in comparison. The Mormons, I mean, Cougars will continue to an 11-2 season.

Rice vs. Troy, The R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl (ESPN2, Dec. 22, 8 PM): Man, how do teams like Rice and Troy get to play in December? There are definitely too many bowl games. I don’t even know who the R&L Carriers are. I’m so annoyed that I’m not going to make a prediction here.

Is college football related to highway transit? Not really.

South Florida vs. East Carolina, The Papajohns.com Bowl (ESPN2, Dec. 23, 1 PM): South Florida beat West Virginia and was very close to doing the same to Rutgers. East Carolina lost to Navy, UAB, and Rice. Also, East Carolina’s mascot is a pirate. I’m definitely picking South Florida.

New Mexico vs. San Jose State, The New Mexico Bowl (ESPN, Dec. 23, 4:30 PM): New Mexico lost to Portland State, a Division I-AA school. Even with New Mexico’s home-field advantage, I’ll stick with San Jose State.

Utah vs. Tulsa, The Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl (ESPN, Dec. 23, 8 PM): Tulsa at BYU, 25-49. BYU at Utah, 31-33. Go Utes!

Hawaii vs. Arizona State, The Sheraton Hawaii Bowl (ESPN, Dec. 24, 8 PM): Hawaii will probably beat lackluster and quarterback-less Arizona State (I bet the Sun Devils wish they hadn’t let Rudy Carpenter go). Hawaii QB Colt Brennan will throw for 1,424 yards in the first half out of frustration with the awards committees. In the second half, he will throw a pass around the world into the end zone, just for kicks.

Central Michigan vs. Middle Tennessee State, The Motor City Bowl (ESPN, Dec. 26, 7:30 PM): This matchup is so uninteresting that it can only be described by the tagline for Alien vs. Predator: “Whoever wins, we lose.”

UCLA vs. Florida State, The Emerald Bowl (ESPN, Dec. 27, 8 PM): This is the first bowl game of the season that I am actually going to try to watch. UCLA just came off a huge defensive win against USC, the greatest offense of all time. Florida State just came off a moral victory against Florida, holding the Gators to only three touchdowns and scoring two of their own. I think the Bruins will turn their momentum into bowl season victory, but it will not be easy.

I’ll be back the night of the 27th to close out the calendar year.

That’s right folks, it’s bowl time! I’m looking forward to it…since it’s exceedingly likely I won’t be able to upload the predictions anytime soon, I’ll say it here:

Garret Wolfe nonwithstadning, TCU has a good football team this year. Teams from the MAC usually don’t. I say 28-21 in a shootout for TCU, which is basically my way of saying “I don’t really know who’s going to win, but I like TCU better for whatever reason.”

More to come in a few days, hopefully.

I was going to write about how Michigan should be in the championship game instead of Florida, but Gene Wojciechowski from ESPN.com said it better than I ever could have. I’m not saying that the two teams aren’t close, but when you take out all your SEC/anti-Big Ten biases the Wolverines make a better case. That’s all I’m going to say about the BCS standings for now. I may come back sometime next week with a more thorough comparison of the two teams.

Here’s my Heisman ballot and the method behind my madness:

3. Darren McFadden: McFadden ran for 1,558 yards and 14 touchdowns. He also threw for 3 touchdowns on 8 passing attempts with one interception. Injured at the beginning of the year, his development as a player is what kept Arkansas’ title hopes alive (since Casey Dick, their quarterback, is awful). He’s a sophomore, which means he will be back next year to do some more damage in the SEC. I hope Auburn figures out how to tackle by then.

2. Troy Smith: Troy Smith dominated every defense he played. Like Peyton Manning in those Sprint commercials, Smith has a “laser, rocket arm” that he uses to throw a football wherever he wants on the field. He threw for 2,507 yards, 30 touchdowns, and only five interceptions. Those stats are ridiculous. Smith is the first Ohio State quarterback since some guy named Tippy Dye, who played in the 30s, to beat Michigan three times in a row. “So,” you may be wondering, “if Troy Smith is this amazing, why don’t you rank him number one?” The answer is…

1. Vince Young: Let’s all be real for a second. Vince Young got robbed of the Heisman Trophy last year. Reggie Bush, as good as he was, was only the second-best player in the nation. Young proved that during the 2006 Rose Bowl when he dominated USC once and for all. Plus, Young’s presence made it possible for Texas to beat Nebraska this season, and his spirit was with Oregon State and UCLA when they beat USC. Finally, he is already a pretty good NFL quarterback. C’mon, folks. Let’s make up for last year’s mistake.

Feel free to post your unconvincing pro-Florida/pro-Quinn/anti-Young arguments here. I’ll be back before the 19th to predict the first round of bowl games.

You’re going to need it.

Edit! I spoke too soon! He definitely made the right call here.