Bowl-a-rama!

I’d like this set of picks to be as fun as last year’s was to make, but that took an incredible amount of research and goofing around on the Internet. Actually, the research was an incredible amount. The goofing around was a legendary amount. But that’s neither here nor there.

This year’s picks won’t have the benefit of being able to link to hot chicks that play a school’s mascot or anything, it’ll just be what I know off the top of my head or gather from ESPN. And it’ll probably be just a plain ol’ pick, with possible commentary if I just can’t help myself. Here we go…

Dec. 19
Poinsettia, ESPN2 8 p.m., TCU (7-5) vs. Northern Illinois (10-2)

Dec. 21
Las Vegas, ESPN 8 p.m., Oregon (7-5) vs. BYU (10-2)

Dec. 22
New Orleans, ESPN 8 p.m., Troy (7-5) vs. Rice (7-5)

Dec. 23
Armed Forces, ESPN 8 p.m., Utah (7-5) vs. Tulsa (8-4)

New Mexico, ESPN 4:30 p.m., New Mexico (6-6) vs. San Jose St. (8-4)

PapaJohns.com, ESPN2 1 p.m., East Carolina (7-5) vs. South Florida (8-4)
When the Golden Bulls were playing (and beating) West Virginia, I told someone: “You know, they don’t win a lot of games; but they do win the big ones.” This’ll be another of those big wins for South Florida.

Dec. 24
Hawaii, ESPN 8 p.m., Arizona State (7-5) vs. Hawaii (10-3)

Dec. 26
Motor City, ESPN 7:30 p.m., C. Michigan (9-4) vs. Middle Tenn. (7-5)

Dec. 27
Emerald, ESPN 8 p.m., Florida State (6-6) vs. UCLA (7-5)

Dec. 28
Holiday, ESPN 8 p.m., Texas A&M (9-3) vs. California (9-3)
Oh this one sucks. 2 evenly matched 9-3 teams? I’d say that it a pick ‘em, but I have to actually pick one here don’t I? Fine. How about… Cal.


Texas, NFL Net. 8 p.m., Rutgers (10-2) vs. Kansas State (7-5)
The Scarlet Knights will be out to prove that they were worth all the talk that they got for the majority of the season. Unfortunately, it’s the Texas Bowl and no one’s gonna give a damn.

Independence, ESPN 4:30 p.m., Oklahoma State (6-6) vs. Alabama (6-6)

Dec. 29
Champs Sports, ESPN 8 p.m., Purdue (8-5) vs. Maryland (8-4)

Insight, NFL Net. 7:30 p.m., Minnesota (6-6) vs. Texas Tech (7-5)
“No Maroney means Minnesota’s bologna.” Hmmm… sounds right but looks wrong. Probably what my prediction will be.

Liberty, ESPN 4:30 p.m., Houston (10-3) vs. South Carolina (7-5)
A 10-3 record and being Conference USA Champs isn’t enough to get past a Spurrier-coached South Carolina team that’s ready to stop under-performing.

Sun, CBS 2 p.m., Missouri (8-4) vs. Oregon State (9-4)
Heh heh… Beavers.

Music City, ESPN 1 p.m., Kentucky (7-5) vs. Clemson (8-4)

Dec. 30
Chick-fil-A, ESPN 8 p.m., Virginia Tech (10-2) vs. Georgia (8-4)
So many things to say about UGAy. And they’re all bad. Instead, I’ll just say that VA Tech will be firing on all cylinders for offense, defense and Beamer’s special teams; and there’s not a whole hell of a lot that UGA will be able to do about it. Because they suck.

Alamo, ESPN 4:30 p.m., Texas (9-3) vs. Iowa (6-6)
Texas is gonna be pissed that they’re playing in the Alamo Bowl instead of playing for the BCS Title like they thought they would a few months ago. They can be pissed all they want but it’s their own fault for screwing up 3 times this year and relegating themselves here.

Meineke Car Care, ESPN2 1 p.m., Boston College (9-3) vs. Navy (9-3)
Heart says Navy. Head says BC. The coin tosses have it: BC it is.

Dec. 31
MPC Computers, ESPN 7:30 p.m., Nevada (8-4) vs. Miami (Fla.) (6-6)
You think Coker can coax one more win out of this team before he packs his bags and high-tails it out of Coral Gables? Me too.

Jan. 1
Fiesta, FOX 8 p.m., Oklahoma (11-2) vs. Boise State (12-0)
Damn. Another hard one. It’s size versus speed. And how good is Boise St. off the Smurf Turf? Guess it’s time to put ‘em on the table and pick… Oklahoma.

Rose, ABC 5 p.m., Southern Cal. (10-2) vs. Michigan (11-1)

Capital One, ABC 1 p.m., Arkansas (10-3) vs. Wisconsin (11-1)

Gator, CBS 1 p.m., Georgia Tech (9-4) vs. W. Virginia (10-2)
Reggie Ball. That’s all that needs to be said.

Cotton, FOX 11:30 a.m., Nebraska (9-4) vs. Auburn (10-2)

Outback, ESPN 11 a.m., Penn State (8-4) vs. Tennessee (9-3)

Jan. 2
Orange, FOX 8 p.m., Wake Forest (11-2) vs. Louisville (11-1)
I initially had Louisville, but have since changed my mind. I'll probably regret it.

Jan. 3
Sugar, FOX 8 p.m., LSU (10-2) vs. Notre Dame (10-2)
Let’s see if Notre Dame can put their money where their mouths are and play up to their potential against a team that seems to outmatch them.

Jan. 6
International, ESPN Noon, W. Michigan (8-4) vs. Cincinnati (7-5)
The “Who gives a shit Bowl” has been conveniently located in a city where they probably don’t give a shit.

Jan. 7
GMAC, ESPN 8 p.m., Southern Miss (8-5) vs. Ohio (9-4)

Jan. 8
BCS Title, FOX 8 p.m., Ohio State (12-0) vs. Florida (12-1)


This is gonna hurt.

D