Bowl Picks: Part I
That's right, it's Bowl Season!
In just a few days from now, the College Football Bowl games will kickoff, meaning we'll be seeing the last of quite a few good players, including this fat guy, Anthony Davis of Rutgers.
Davis and the Scarlet Knights are one of two teams that will be in action on Saturday, followed by a Sunday game and some games scattered through next week.
We're going to take a peak at the first six bowl games, give some insight and some analysis and see how accurate our picks are.
The first six games are the New Mexico Bowl, the St. Petersburg Bowl, the New Orleans Bowl, the Las Vegas Bowl, the Poinsettia Bowl and the Hawaii Bowl.
We don't refer to the bowl games by the corporate name if it can be avoided.
So, let's get it going. Here is the first preview installment.
New Mexico Bowl
Fresno State (8-4) v. Wyoming (6-6): At first glimpse, this game seems like a no-brainer, but then I think about how improved Wyoming is. Going 6-6 for them is huge, and they hung with Texas for more than a half. The Cowboys have definitely given some teams trouble this year. They have a solid and athletic quarterback in Austyn Carta-Samuels. I hope that's how you spell it because I'm going off memory.
The Bulldogs, as we know, are led by a stud runner in Ryan Mathews, who was second in the country with 1,664 yards despite missing the better part of two games towards the end of the year. They will run with Mathews a lot and look to keep the Wyoming offense off the field. If this game turns into a shootout, I think Fresno State has more firepower.
Picks:
Matt: Fresno State
Ben: Fresno State
St. Petersburg Bowl
Central Florida (8-4) v. Rutgers (8-4): At this website, we love Rutgers. So much so (me especially) that I nearly forget they have to actually play to win. I assume they are anointed as the winners of whatever game they play. However, this team has been so up and down that I would expect a very good ballgame here.
The Scarlet Knights have a group of talented WR's and a good freshman quarterback, but behind a talented sophomore runner in Brynn Harvey, the Golden Knights beat a ranked Houston team this year. I think the Big East triumphs here, but in a close one.
Picks:
Matt: Rutgers
Ben: Rutgers
New Orleans Bowl
Southern Miss (7-5) v. Middle Tennessee State (9-3): Even with Jesus Christ as their defensive coordinator, the Blue Raiders don't have much of a chance to stop talented RB Damion Fletcher and this talented Golden Eagles offense. Even with The Onion reference aside, I think these two football teams are in a completely different class.
Picks:
Matt: Southern Miss
Ben: Southern Miss
Las Vegas Bowl
No. 16 Oregon State (8-4) v. No. 12 BYU (10-2): This has the makings of a great game, especially for Dec. 22. Two very high powered offenses, two very efficient quarterbacks and two okay defenses. The difference is the running game. Oregon State has it, and BYU does not. I think Jacquizz Rodgers is the difference in this game as he and Sean Canfield will be enough to offset the prolific passing attack of Max Hall. The Pac-10 prevails in my mind. Ben, however, does not agree.
Picks:
Matt: Oregon State
Ben: BYU
Poinsettia Bowl
Utah (9-3) v. California (8-4): The Bears will be without Jahvid Best, but I have a theory. I am certainly in the minority here, but I think Cal is better off without him. Not because he isn't good. He's great. I think it's because without him Jeff Tedford stops trying to outthink himself and just calls a normal football game. He gives it Shane Vereen straight ahead 25 times and takes the pressure of Kevin Riley. Cal is 6-1 in bowl games under Tedford, and against a young and overrated Utah team (they've been overrated all year) I think the Bears make it 7-1.
Picks:
Matt: California
Ben: California
Hawaii Bowl
Nevada (8-4) v. SMU (7-5): How funny is it that June Jones returns to Hawaii for a bowl game with his new team? Well, not that funny I guess, but certainly ironic. For some reason, we can't really get behind SMU here at collegefbpoll.com. Mostly the Methodist thing, but also it has the state of Texas working against it. And losing to Washington State yet making a bowl game plays a factor. Anyway, this Jones team is more balanced with a solid passing and rushing attack, but the Wolfpack rushing attack of Vai Taua, Colin Kaepernick and Luke Lippincott (all over 1,000 yards) will be too much to handle.
Picks:
Matt: Nevada
Ben: Nevada
Fresno State (8-4) v. Wyoming (6-6): At first glimpse, this game seems like a no-brainer, but then I think about how improved Wyoming is. Going 6-6 for them is huge, and they hung with Texas for more than a half. The Cowboys have definitely given some teams trouble this year. They have a solid and athletic quarterback in Austyn Carta-Samuels. I hope that's how you spell it because I'm going off memory.
The Bulldogs, as we know, are led by a stud runner in Ryan Mathews, who was second in the country with 1,664 yards despite missing the better part of two games towards the end of the year. They will run with Mathews a lot and look to keep the Wyoming offense off the field. If this game turns into a shootout, I think Fresno State has more firepower.
Picks:
Matt: Fresno State
Ben: Fresno State
St. Petersburg Bowl
Central Florida (8-4) v. Rutgers (8-4): At this website, we love Rutgers. So much so (me especially) that I nearly forget they have to actually play to win. I assume they are anointed as the winners of whatever game they play. However, this team has been so up and down that I would expect a very good ballgame here.
The Scarlet Knights have a group of talented WR's and a good freshman quarterback, but behind a talented sophomore runner in Brynn Harvey, the Golden Knights beat a ranked Houston team this year. I think the Big East triumphs here, but in a close one.
Picks:
Matt: Rutgers
Ben: Rutgers
New Orleans Bowl
Southern Miss (7-5) v. Middle Tennessee State (9-3): Even with Jesus Christ as their defensive coordinator, the Blue Raiders don't have much of a chance to stop talented RB Damion Fletcher and this talented Golden Eagles offense. Even with The Onion reference aside, I think these two football teams are in a completely different class.
Picks:
Matt: Southern Miss
Ben: Southern Miss
Las Vegas Bowl
No. 16 Oregon State (8-4) v. No. 12 BYU (10-2): This has the makings of a great game, especially for Dec. 22. Two very high powered offenses, two very efficient quarterbacks and two okay defenses. The difference is the running game. Oregon State has it, and BYU does not. I think Jacquizz Rodgers is the difference in this game as he and Sean Canfield will be enough to offset the prolific passing attack of Max Hall. The Pac-10 prevails in my mind. Ben, however, does not agree.
Picks:
Matt: Oregon State
Ben: BYU
Poinsettia Bowl
Utah (9-3) v. California (8-4): The Bears will be without Jahvid Best, but I have a theory. I am certainly in the minority here, but I think Cal is better off without him. Not because he isn't good. He's great. I think it's because without him Jeff Tedford stops trying to outthink himself and just calls a normal football game. He gives it Shane Vereen straight ahead 25 times and takes the pressure of Kevin Riley. Cal is 6-1 in bowl games under Tedford, and against a young and overrated Utah team (they've been overrated all year) I think the Bears make it 7-1.
Picks:
Matt: California
Ben: California
Hawaii Bowl
Nevada (8-4) v. SMU (7-5): How funny is it that June Jones returns to Hawaii for a bowl game with his new team? Well, not that funny I guess, but certainly ironic. For some reason, we can't really get behind SMU here at collegefbpoll.com. Mostly the Methodist thing, but also it has the state of Texas working against it. And losing to Washington State yet making a bowl game plays a factor. Anyway, this Jones team is more balanced with a solid passing and rushing attack, but the Wolfpack rushing attack of Vai Taua, Colin Kaepernick and Luke Lippincott (all over 1,000 yards) will be too much to handle.
Picks:
Matt: Nevada
Ben: Nevada
0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: Bowl Picks: Part I.
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.blogsbyfans.com/cgi-bin/blog-mt/mt-tb.cgi/17670.
Took me awhile to read all the comments, but I really love the article. It proved to be very helpful to me and I am sure to all the commenters here! It's always nice when you can not only be informed, but also engaged! I'm sure you had fun writing this article.
Useful information, many thanks to the author. It is puzzling to me now, but in general, the usefulness and importance is overwhelming. Very much thanks again and good luck!