College Football Bowl Picks
December 20, 2005
Posted by kris at December 20, 2005 01:39 PM
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Bowl season starts tonight! There's still time to join our bowl pool. Test your wits against our staff and you could win a fun, fabulous prize.
As I've done all season, here are some of my my bowl game picks. I'm going to break it out into Locks & Guesses.
Locks:
- Boise State over Boston College in the MPC Computers Bowl. Not only does Boston College not get a game in a warm, tropical vacation destination, they have to play on Boise State's blue, home turf. No chance.
- In the Orange Bowl, there's no way an almost unbeaten Penn State loses to Florida State. No way. No how. The ACC is supposed to be this crack conference and this is the team that makes their BCS bowl? Yikes. Nice job with that conference championship game, fellas.
- While there's a chance that Oregon will still be ticked about not getting a BCS bowl bid, but there's no chance that all other teams in the Big 12 (save Texas) are suddenly good. So, I'm taking Oregon over Oklahoma in the Holiday Bowl.
- Hmmm, 10-1 TCU vs. 7-4 Iowa State in the Houston Bowl. What conference is Iowa State in again? Oh yeah, the Big 12. Heh, chalk one up for the Horned Frogs of TCU.
- Finally, I've no doubt that South Carolina will destroy Missouri in the Independence Bowl. Do you sense a trend? Yes, I'm basically picking against every Big 12 team (save one).
Guesses:
- The best game of the season might be the battle between Notre Dame and Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl. Although Notre Dame is a fine team, Ohio State is exceptional. They're only losses have been to the #2 and #3 teams in the country. And, to be honest, they really should have beat Texas. So, my pick is Ohio State.
- The Peach Bowl pits Miami vs. LSU. I don't get Miami. One minute they look like world beaters and the next they look like chumps. I guess that's why they're here and not in Orange Bowl. That said, I think LSU received some sympathy points in the polls all season long. Unfortunately for Louisiana fans, they're going down to another Hurricane in this game.
- On the surface, the Champs Sports Bowl should be an easy win for Clemson over Colorado. But, on the other hand, perhaps Colorado's players will be so happy that Gary Barnett is gone that they'll throw in a great effort. They could play with a spark, but my gut tells me that Clemson finally figured out how to win and they'll continue to do so here.
- I think the Sun Bowl might be the most fun game of the season to watch. With UCLA playing Northwestern, this could be that rare game where the first team to 50 doesn't win! That said, I think Northwestern will be the first to break the half century mark and they'll hold up the Big Ten's honor against their PAC 10 rivals.
- Finally, it's the Granddaddy of them all, the Rose Bowl. USC has been challenged by teams all season while the only team that gave Texas a good game was Ohio State. While I respect the Trojans' ability to win the close ones, I'm not going to hold the fact that Texas is so good against them. I think their defense (and USC's relative lack of a defense) makes the difference. The Longhorns will be your new national champions.
You'll notice that I didn't make a pick in the Capital One Bowl. To be honest, I'm quite sure that Auburn will win the game and I was tempted to make the game a lock for them. But, I don't have the heart to it. I can pick against the Badgers, but I just can't declare that they don't have a chance.
Posted by kris at December 20, 2005 01:39 PM
The trackback entry for this page is : http://www.inthehat.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/1208
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Comments
| # December 20th, 2005 2:17 PM drew |
| OU upsets Oregon.
Clemson beats Colorado by 40. FSU makes a game out of it against Penn State. Bowls are funny. The hungrier team usually wins, but it's hard to figure out which team that will be. |
| # December 20th, 2005 5:09 PM james |
| bc
penn state oregon tcu sc osu miami clemson ucla usc and wisconsin gets KILLED by auburn. sorry. |
| # December 20th, 2005 5:40 PM Daddy |
| Uh....Isn't the Capital One Bowl Barry's last game?
And Barry's last game is a bowl game? On New Year's (well, the day after, but--). How do you NOT pick Wisconsin? |
| # December 20th, 2005 5:44 PM Daddy |
| Oh, in the "Boise State Gets Another Home Game" Bowl--let's face it. Give it any name you want, there's no other reason for that game to exist. Do they even put 11 a side on the field in that conference? I thought they played 7-man football.
Anyway, I got sidetracked. When Boise State has an unbeaten or near-unbeaten season and plays a nobody, they win. They had a good, but not great, season. They're playing a ranked team. Go BC. |
| # December 20th, 2005 9:50 PM kris |
| Daddy, we don't pick Wisconsin because we've seen Wisconsin. Sometimes you gotta let your head overrule your heart. |
| # December 21st, 2005 8:06 AM jagorham |
| One of these years, the Big 10 will get smart and not schedule a noontime game in Florida in early January.
I've noticed, as often as not, the Big 10 rep in the Capital One / Florida Citrus / Tangerine bowl has become so acclimated to life in a northern town that they get overheated after halftime -- especially against an SEC team who's a little more adjusted to the climate. |
| # December 21st, 2005 9:08 AM jsnisu |
| Kris, a little rough on Iowa State, 'ey? I feel that I have to defend my school. 3 of 4 losses came on the road, in overtime, and against teams that are bowling this year. I've got Iowa St, ucla, oregon, penn st, auburn, west virginia, oh st, v tech, and Texas. |
| # December 21st, 2005 9:43 AM kris |
| I've been burned by the Big 12 before. I think I'm taking it all out on the conference this year. |
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