The Sports Rumors

BCS Bowl Predictions (1/5)

Now that the lower-tiered bowls are out of the way, I can focus on the BCS previews. For these, I will go a little more in-depth than the previous picks.First up, “The Granddaddy of them All.”

Jan 1, 4:30pm ABC, The Rose Bowl, #6 Southern California (10-2) vs #13 Illinois (9-3)

When this matchup came up, I was very puzzled to say the least. Although Illinois had a very good year, especially considering their previous years, the Big10/11 was A-W-F-U-L this year. I understand the “tradition” of the Rose Bowl dictates a Pac10 vs Big10/11 showdown, but seriously the Rose Bowl needs to get over itself and start playing nicely with others. They need to give people games they want to see, and not be so locked into mindless tradition.

At any rate, when Southern California (notice how I do not say USC because that team resides in Columbia, SC) has the ball, look for them to lull Illinois to sleep with their stable of dominating running backs, then strike quick with the play action. Look for TE Fred Davis to have a good day against the Illini.

On the Illinois side of the ball, they have some definite playmakers. Rashard Mendenhall is an absolute monster, gaining 1526 yards on 245 carries this season, with QB Juice Williams sitting at 774 yards rushing and 1498 yards passing. Although the Illini are the definition of 1-dimensional, that one demension is utilized very well in the spread option scheme. Most importantly, they do not turn the ball over very much. Southern California is 4th in the nation in rushing defense, but they will still have their hands full with Illinois. The Zooker will be studying copious tapes of SoCal’s game against Oregon for inspiration.

Special teams seem to be a wash, with maybe a slight edge given to Illinois.

Pick: Southern California 34 - Illinois 17

College Football Bowl Predictions (3 of 4)

Dec 30, 8pm ESPN, Petrosun Independence Bowl. Alabama (6-6) vs Colorado (6-6)
Neither of these teams deserves a bowl game. This should be a sloppy, turnover-filled game.
Pick: Colorado 28 - Alabama 17

Dec 31, 12:30pm ESPN, Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl. California (6-6) vs Air Force (9-3)
Cal, after losing 6 of their last 7 games, should not be in a bowl game this year… period. Those players have quit and Air Force should have their way with them. It is laughable that Cal goes bowling while Troy (8-4) sits at home.
Pick: Air Force 48 - Cal 35

Dec 31, 2pm CBS, Sun Bowl. #23 South Florida (9-3) vs Oregon (8-4)
Remember when Oregon had a Heisman-lock at QB in Dennis Dixon and were throttling teams with their spread option attack? Well, Dixon went down as did the play from Oregon. USF has a decent qb and an athletic, speedy defense that will get after you.
Pick: South Florida 21 - Oregon 14

Dec 31, 2pm ESPN2, Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl. Georgia Tech (7-5) vs Fresno St (8-4)
Who wants to travel to Boise, Idaho for a bowl game? Georgia Tech has the talent to beat Fresno St, but I think they are just going to mail it in and wait for the Paul Johnson era to begin.
Pick: Fresno St 31 - Georgia Tech 27

Dec 31, 4pm ESPN, Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl. Kentucky (7-5) vs Florida St (7-5)
Another ho-hum matchup. Kentucky started out on fire and turned into, well, Kentucky football. FSU had big plans for the year but the game and todays players seem to have passed Bobbah by. I think Woodson has a big day in his last game as a Wildcat.
Pick: Kentucky 30 - Florida St 17
Note: this game may even be uglier than this due to the cheating scandal at FSU… ouch.

Dec 31, 5:30pm NFL Network, Insight Bowl. Indiana (7-5) vs Oklahoma St (6-6)
Indiana fans this year, like Rutgers fans last year, are pissed that their first bowl game in ages won’t be on broadcast tv. In the words of Oklahoma St HC Mike Gundy, “THATS GARBAGE!” At any rate, Indiana is riding a wave of emotion and I think it continues through to this game, despite said coach Gundy Being “A MAN… 40!”
Pick: Indiana 37 - Oklahoma St 35

Dec 31, 7:30pm ESPN, Peach Bowl. #15 Clemson (9-3) vs #22 Auburn (8-4)
I refuse to call this the Chik-Fil-A Bowl. This will be a very good game. Clemson’s Cullen Harper has come on strong to finish the season at QB and the backfield combo of Spiller and Davis is as good as anybody in the country. Will Muschamp’s boys will be fired up on D for this game. Unless Brandon Cox screws the pooch a la Sean Glennon last year, look for Auburn to win in a “Tommy Bowden being Tommy Bowden” type of game.
Pick: Auburn 31 - Clemson 21

College Football Bowl Predictions (2 of 4)

Dec 28, 5pm ESPN, Champs Sports Bowl. #14 Boston College (10-3) vs Michigan St (7-5)
Boston College got screwed with their bowl bid, but they have nobody to blame but themselves: that is what happens when your “fan base” doesn’t travel well… or at all. At any rate, BC outclasses Sparty all around.
Pick: Boston College 24 - Michigan St 14

Dec 28, 8pm NFL Network, Texas Bowl. TCU (7-5) vs Houston (8-4)
Yawn. TCU was expecting bigger things this year. Houston has had an OK year, for a mid-major. Nobody will be able to watch this bowl because it is on NFL network.
Pick: Houston 31 - TCU 21

Dec 28, 8:30pm ESPN, Emerald Bowl. Maryland (6-6) vs Oregon St (8-4)
Nobody feared the turtle this year, mostly because Maryland was too banged up. Oregon St. had a few wins over ranked teams… although those ranked teams were Cal (bad decision by freshman 3rd string QB) and Oregon (who had given up after the Dixon injury). Heres to the best 6-6 team in America.
Pick: Maryland 28 - Oregon St 17

Dec 29, 1pm ESPN, Meineke Car Care Bowl. #25 Connecticut (9-3) vs Wake Forest (8-4)
Connecticut is not a legitimate top 25 team, Wake Forest is. Both coaches are very good though, so this game could get very interesting.
Pick: Wake Forest 27 - Connecticut 24

Dec 29, 4:30pm ESPN, AutoZone Liberty Bowl. UCF (10-3) vs Mississippi St (7-5)
This game will be highly watchable. Kevin Smith from UCF is lights out and UCF showed they can hang with the big boys by almost beating Texas early in the season. Mississippi St seems to have turned a corner under Sylvester Croom with some tough victories this year.
Pick: Mississippi St 23 - UCF 21

Dec 29, 8pm ESPN, Valero Alamo Bowl. Penn St (8-4) vs Texas A&M (7-5)
Not much to say for this game, it should be very boring football. Franchione is out at A&M, so look for them to lose.
Pick: Penn St 14 - Texas A&M 10

College Football Bowl Predictions (1 of 4)

As you know, the bowl season is upon us and that means there are going to be about 135 random games for the next couple of weeks, leading up to the national title game. The Sports Rumors has been adding writers and contributors to the site, and now will have a person designated to all things college football. We’re starting things off by previewing each of the bowl games. It will be done through four posts. Each of the later posts will get smaller in number of bowl games and bigger in analysis. Today, we give you the first of the posts. Enjoy.

Dec 20, 9pm ESPN, Poinsettia Bowl. Navy (8-4) vs Utah (8-4)

Even though Paul Johnson is leaving the Middies to go to GT, the system will not change. HUGE homefield advantage for Navy in San Diego, as well.

Pick: Navy 28 - Utah 24

Dec 21, 8pm ESPN2, R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. Memphis (7-5) vs FAU (7-5)

Memphis really turned their season around after the murder of Taylor Bradford. FAU, notoriously bad, had a surprising year and is playing in its first bowl. Not much else I can say besides there are too many bowl games.

Pick: Memphis 35 - FAU 21

Dec 22, 1pm ESPN2, PapaJohns.Com Bowl. Southern Miss (7-5) vs Cincinnatti (9-3)

Things are so bad at Southern Miss since Bower is gone that Brett Favre is reportedly peeved and refuses to donate for the foreseeable future. Cincinnati is, well, very good and very underrated. Look for them to stick the dagger in early.

Pick: Cincinnatti 42 - Southern Miss 10

Dec 22, 4:30 pm ESPN, New Mexico Bowl. Nevada (6-6) vs New Mexico (8-4)

Once again, too many bowls. When people have to create bowls just so their team can play in on, it defeats the purpose. I have not been impressed with New Mexico this year. Nevada has had a solid performance out of Colin Kaepernick (watch out for this kid, hes only a freshman) and the pistol formation continues to get it done.

Pick: Nevada 31 - New Mexico 28

Dec 22, 8pm ESPN, Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl. UCLA (6-6) vs #19 BYU (10-2)

UCLA has seriously underperformed this year, as was Karl Dorrell’s style (which is why he was fired). BYU is looking to avenge an early season stumble to UCLA and is a might bit peeved that 1) their ranking is so low and 2) they didn’t get a better bowl invite. The folks in Westwood won’t be liking this game at all.

Pick: BYU 42 - UCLA 17

Dec 23, 8pm ESPN, Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. #24 Boise St (10-2) vs East Carolina (7-5)

ECU has surprised some folks this year with their good play. Boise State continues their recent streak of good play and their RB Ian Johnson is legit.

Pick: Boise St 35 - East Carolina 20

Dec 26, 7:30pm ESPN, Motor City Bowl. Purdue (7-5) vs Central Michigan (8-5)

Rematches are lame. Purdue is not a good team, but they are good enough to feast on MAC teams. I mean, they trick people into believing they can play legit ball by slaughtering 2-3 MAC teams in the beginning of every year, only to get worked in conference play.

Pick: Purdue 45 - Central Michigan 22 (same score as before)

Dec 27, 8pm ESPN, Pacific Life Holiday Bowl. #12 Arizona St (10-2) vs #17 Texas (9-3)

The first of the watchable games. Arizona St. has turned some heads under their first year coach Dennis Erickson; QB Rudy Carpenter has had a very solid season and has seemingly turned his career around. I still think Jamaal Charles and the Longhorns will be too much for them.

Pick: Texas 38 - Arizona St 31

Contributed by Basil Huffman