Shameless Bowl Predictions

Everyone has them. Everyone’s an expert. Everyone has an opinion. What makes me different? I’m cold…no emotion. Just watch…my picks will beat anyone’s on this board. This is where we separate the men from the boys. To show you how tough I am, I’m fighting this age of commercialism by dropping the sponsor’s name…if I can remember the bowl's original name!

New Orleans Bowl…Southern Miss won 31-19. OK, it was last night. But who would pick Arkansas State over Brett Farve’s Golden Eagles?

GMAC Bowl…UTEP wins. Same theory…who picks Toledo? Nice story though…they’re here only after scoring a last second TD to beat the Northern Illinois Huskies. UTEP coach Mike Price was so confident he gave his seniors off two days worth of practices. Got you suckered in yet?

Las Vegas Bowl…California over BYU. Lavell Edwards, bless his heart, as we say here in the South. Those old BYU fathers always play hard, but will be no match for Cal, who endured that tough PAC-10 schedule. But BYU has the nicest uniforms, but one of the lowest graduation rates of all the bowl teams.

Poinsettia Bowl…Colorado State over Navy. The Midshipmen will come ready to play, so this could be a close one. I know, pretty weak.

Fort Worth Bowl…Kansas over Houston. Will the Jayhawks bounce back after missing out on the conference championship game? Coaching will determine the winner Friday night.

Hawaii Bowl…Central Florida over Nevada. My man George O’Leary will have his guys ready. This will be no day at the beach for Nevada.

Motor City Bowl…Akron over Memphis. Akron is closer to home, and more used to the cold. Wait, the game is indoors. I’m sticking with the Zips.

Champs Sports (Tangerine?) Bowl…Clemson over Colorado. The Buffalos gave up against Texas, and lost their head coach. Things are a mess out there…how can they rise to the occasion? Bowden’s Tigers were one play away from losing in five of their seven wins, and were said to be overrated by experts (including me). Clemson has a way of playing at the level of their competition, so if Colorado brings their A game, here’s the upset.

Insight Bowl…Arizona State over Rutgers. Another home game for the Sun Devils.

MPC Computers Bowl…Boston College beats Boise State. A home game for Boise State on the blue turf, but the BC Eagles always play tough. And they have one of the best bowl team graduation rates. Love these facts I’m feeding you? I do wonder if the gift package given to the players includes a laptop.

Alamo Bowl…Michigan over Nebraska. The Wolverines played a tougher schedule, and the Huskers ain’t what they used to be.

Emerald Nut Bowl…Georgia Tech beats up on Utah. The Jackets have something to prove, having been out-politicked out of two closer bowls by teams with lesser records. Chan Gailey’s teams have won bowl games these last two years by large margins, and with a healthy P.J. Daniels running the ball, should add to their college bowl record win total. Hope they don’t tear up the outfield too bad for Barry Bonds, and I hope someone shows up to watch the game in person. Tech has donated over 6,000 tickets to local children. They’ll enjoy singing ‘I’m a Ramblin’ Wreck From Georgia tech and a helluva Engineer.’

Holiday Bowl…Oregon over Oklahoma. The Ducks have something to prove, having been shafted as bad as Georgia Tech. Nike will have them outfitted in the latest techno-uni, and the Sooners won’t know what hit them.

Music City Bowl…Minnesota over Virginia. The Cavaliers have some athletes and will make this tight, but Minnesota will come to the table hungrier.

Sun Bowl…UCLA over Northwestern. A cold day could spell trouble for the Bruins, who are eager to bounce back from being embarrassed by USC.

Independence Bowl…South Carolina over Missouri. Spurrier is used to bigger stages, but will have the Gamecocks ready, even though Missouri may have more talent.

Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl…Miami over LSU. Sorry for the sellout, but those sandwiches are great…hope you’ve tried one. Hate it that next year the lovely Peach Bowl name goes away, and probably the logo as well. That big ole LSU QB is hurt, and the over-rated Tigers are down after being out-coached by Georgia in the SEC championship game. The ‘Canes will but an old-fashioned hurtin’ on the Bayou Bengals. Sorry for lapsing into Southernese, y’all.

Mieneke Car Care (Charlotte?) Bowl…NC State over South Florida. Even the Wolfpack has better personnel the South Florida. Since Coach Chuck took off his shades, they’ve been winning. But he may need them, considering the early 11 am New Year’s Eve start.

Liberty Bowl…Fresno State over Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane may be tough, but the Bulldogs will have an easy time. Weren’t you convinced after that thriller against USC? But if it’s a cold day in Memphis…

Houston Bowl…TCU over Iowa State. Is this list of bowls ever going to end? The Horned Frogs are on a roll with nine straight wins. The Cyclones played a tougher schedule, but haven’t felt that winning feeling enough. Notice there’s no mention of point spreads here...I’m not that good!

Cotton Bowl…Alabama over Texas Tech. Just a feeling on this one. Tech comes in expecting to win close to home. Bama, shamed by it’s fall from it’s lofty mid-season ranking, comes ready to play. Brodie goes out a winner.

Outback Bowl…Florida over Iowa. The Gators are another team on a roll.

Gator Bowl…Virginia Tech over Louisville. Everyone loves the Cardinals, but the well-coached Hokies bounce back from the ACC championship game embarrassment.

Capital One Bowl…Auburn over Wisconsin. What do I know, picking all these southern teams? I do know Auburn-they’re for real. The Badgers are no slouch, I know. But trust me…War Eagle.

Fiesta Bowl…Notre Dame beats Ohio State. Charlie Weiss is the edge here. With so much time, he’ll have another superior game plan. OSU came up short against Texas, and this game should be a classic. Coaching wins this one. Anyone still reading this?

Sugar Bowl…Georgia over West Virginia. The Mountaineers had a good year, but Mark Richt will have the Dawgs ready…no letdown here. Could be a rout.

Orange Bowl…Penn State over FSU. What? I picked a southern team to lose? Bowden gets the nod over Paterno when it comes to charm, hands down. But Bobby simply doesn’t have the horses this year. Another rout. They preempted Commander In Chief for this?

Rose Bowl…USC over Texas. Longhorns fold on the big stage. Reggie Bush is great, but Heisman winners are famous for being letdowns in bowl games. Matt Leinart will pick up the slack, showing everyone that he shouldn’t have been second-team All American. Gotta go do the dishes and watch some GMAC commercials!