Thursday, December 23, 2010

College bowl predictions

Those of you wondering who I picked in the Poinsettia Bowl will have to look elsewhere for insight into this game between Navy and San Diego State. However, if you're interested about the bowls where Big 12 teams will appear, as well as BCS games, read on...

Missouri over Iowa. Is there anyone left to play for the Hawkeyes? Suspensions have severely impacted Iowa's chances, which were not good to begin with given the declining success of this team as the season progressed. The line in this game is 2.5 but I think the Tigers win by 10 points in the Insight Bowl.

Baylor over Illinois. It's Baylor's first bowl appearance since 1994 and fans have responded by buying up BU's allotment to the Texas Bowl.

Oklahoma State over Arizona. The Cowboys couldn't beat OU for the Big 12 South crown but will take care of Arizona, in the Alamo Bowl, by two touchdowns.

Syracuse over Kansas State. This one will be close but I suspect that Syracuse will win by three in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium in New York.

Nebraska over Washington. One thing I now have in common with Husker fans is that I could care less about this Holiday Bowl game. NU officials are resorting to various promotional tactics to drive ticket sales. But, seriously, offering two free NU basketball tickets for buying a bowl ticket? That's not exactly an incentive...

Texas Tech over Northwestern. Dan Persa went down late in the season for the Wildcats. This Ticket City Bowl game could be a Red Raider blowout.

Oklahoma over Connecticut. Speaking of blowouts, this Fiesta Bowl matchup is a joke. For exhibit A of why the BCS system is broke, I present Big East Conference winner Connecticut, a 17 point underdog to the Sooners.

LSU over Texas A&M. The Cotton Bowl wanted A&M and their fans but LSU will hold serve for the SEC in this January 1 game.

TCU over Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl. TCU makes one last statement about the strength of their program before joining the Big East, a BCS conference.

Stanford over Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl. Stanford will travel across the country, with few Cardinal fans in its entourage, to confirm the team's status as the third, or maybe even second, best team in the land.

Arkansas over Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl. This is a mild upset pick but I have to believe the Buckeyes are distracted with the revelations of "impermissible benefits" and free tattoos in exchange for autographs, a k a "Tattoo-gate."

Auburn over Oregon in the National Championship. This game should really be fun with plenty of sub-plots, i.e., Cam Newton, Oregon's uniforms, which team can stop the other. I like the Tigers by four, winning with a second-half comeback as they have all year.

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