Welcome to 2009 and Happy New Year! I was out in the cold until 2:00AM watching a bonfire die down enough to go to bed, and then took another hour to actually fall asleep…yeah, I’m in huge need of coffee right now. Regardless I do hope you and yours have a very blessed New Year!
Now on to getting some people upset with me…it’s the final week of bowls for the 2009 season! Let’s begin with a recap:
• Texas Bowl, apparently the home field worked for Rice…1-0
• Holiday Bowl, head there was some questionable calls…did the refs come from the Pac 10? The Ducks win…1-1.
• Armed Forces Bowl, what happened to the Falcons? 1-2
• Sun Bowl, was this a soccer game? Oregon State won 3-0? I fall to 1-3
• Music City Bowl, Vandy managed to win their first bowl game since 1955 by beating the team with the longest bowl win streak in the nation…1-4
• Insight Bowl, Jayhawks win big and win easily…2-4
• Chick-Fil-A Bowl, Oh you of little faith! LSU was given no chance against Tech’s triple option spread offense, but pulled out the 38-3 win! Two things: LSU needs to work on their schedule so that they don’t have to play 8 weeks in a row again, and Jefferson should have been invested in all season instead of Lee…3-4
OK, that stuck, and brings my overall pick total to 13-9 for this post season. Not bad, but not too good either.
Now on to the picks…
• Outback Bowl, Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, FL
The Head Ball Coach brings his fighting Chickens south from South Carolina after a typical USC season to take on the Iowa Hawkeyes out of the Big 10. Spurrier has the ability to get his Gamecocks to win many games that they probably should not have won, while still managing to lose the big games. Iowa on the other hand did manage to hand Penn State their only blemish on the season.
MY PICK: I’m sympathetic to South Carolina as an SEC school, but I don’t see them pulling this one out…I’ll swallow my pride and pick the Big 10 team.
• Gator Bowl, Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, FL
Terry Bowden won’t be escorting Clemson into the Gator Bowl this year having been fired for a totally lack luster start that gave them a 7-5 record and a midfield finish in the ACC. They match up against Bo Pellini’s Cornhuskers of Nebraska coming out of the Big 12 with an 8-4 record. Usually the Gator Bowl is one of my favorite games, not so sure this year’s is going to rate high on my scale.
MY PICK: Clemson is a mess and probably messed up firing Bowden, and even though Bo abandoned LSU for greener corn fields, I’ll pick the ‘Huskers in this one.
• Capital One, Citrus Bowl in Orlando
The 2009 edition of the artist formally known as the Citrus Bowl that sold out to corporate sponsorship while still being played in the Citrus Bowl will once again match up Big 10 and SEC non-BCS runner ups. Former #1 Georgia enters the game having finished 2nd in the SEC East and losing to Georgia Tech in the last game of the season to face #19 Michigan State who matches the Bulldogs with a 9-3 record. Last year’s game was a huge upset with Michigan pulling the surprise on Florida and picking up one more win for Lloyd Carr
MY PICK: I was way wrong on this one last year, but don’t see anyone playing for Lloyd Carr this year…Bulldogs should win with a big game by Moreno.
• The Rose Bowl, Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, CA
Joe Pa makes a return to Pasadena with his Nittany Lions and a single loss on the season to face off against USC playing what amounts to a home game and a single loss also. Joe Paterno is an old school, throw back coach of yeaster-year….especially since he is from the old school and is a throw back and from yester-year being that the guys is almost as old as the Rose Bowl parade. USC on the other hand is often compared to a pro team, and honestly I still wouldn’t doubt some of their players getting paid as much as the pros.
MY PICK: On paper this should be USC’s game to lose, but I’m not going to count the Lions out of it and I’m going to call the upset…Penn State wins.
• Orange Bowl, Dolphins Stadium in Miami, FL
Yes Virginia (Tech), Cincinnati does have a football program. Most people don’t realize that the Bearcats have the oldest on campus stadium in the country, especially since most people don’t realize still that they have a football team. Virginia Tech on the other hand has come so close so many times that they may not always be taken seriously.
MY PICK: My wife is a native of Cincinnati and since my father-in-law wore his Bearcat hat all last week I’ll look at them to repeat their 1947 Sun Bowl win over the Hokies.
• Cotton Bowl, Cotton Bowl in Dallas, TX
Ole Miss fans were wondering around Texarkana yesterday…apparently they are so unused to playing in a bowl game that they didn’t realize Texarkana wasn’t Dallas. The Rebs bring a surprising #20 ranking and a 2nd place finish in the SEC west with a 8-4 record to face off against the Red Raiders of Texas Tech who bring an 11-1 record out of the Big 12 South which was a mess to pick a winner. And what a coaching match-up with the Mad Scientist facing off against….oh wait, no match up there, Ole Miss is coached by Houston “Sometimes you feel like a” Nutt.
MY PICK: Tech will run all over the Rebs.
• Liberty Bowl, Liberty Bowl in Memphis, TN
I love the Liberty Bowl, thought it has had some great match ups in the past…but to be played during BCS week? Why?
For what it is worth the Kentucky Wildcats come out of the SEC with a 6-6 record and they are playing in the 3rd consecutive bowl game for only the 2nd time ever to face off against the East Carolina Pirates who went 9-4 and finished first in the C-USA East. Only in this bowl scenario can a team that finished last in their division match up against a team that finished first in theirs.
Last year the Cats surprised me and won their bowl game, while ECU did manage to start the season with 2 wins against ranked opponents (Virginia Tech and West Virginia), but managed to lose to Mid-Major powerhouse Southern Miss.
MY PICK: Once again, I’m sympathetic to the SEC…but UK is a basketball school; I’ll pick ECU.
• Sugar Bowl, The Louisiana SuperDome in New Orleans, LA
Nick Satan…oops, Saban brings his bunch of hooligans from Tuscaloosa after a surprising season which had them at #1 for a few weeks to face the party crashers out of the Mountain West, Utah. Most people assume Bama will roll over the Utes, but I expect Utah to be the only team the Tide faces that can put up more points than Florida. The Utes will have the distinction of being the only undefeated team in Div. 1-A with a win and a possible argument in the BCS championship debate.
MY PICK: On paper, should be Tide…but the only thing bigger than Saban’s ego is probably the domed stadium this game is being played in; I’m pulling for Utah but wouldn’t be surprised to see the Tide pull it out.
• International Bowl, Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada
Buffalo making their first bowl appearance ever and facing U-Conn in Cananda…never mind, I won’t say it.
MY PICK: The Saturday before my anniversary…I’m taking my wife out, WIN!
• Fiesta Bowl, University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, AZ
The Ohio State Buckeyes bring a 10-2 record and a 2nd place finish in the Big 10 into another BCS game, which hasn’t led to good results the last 2 years…both losses to the SEC. Lucky for the acorns, no SEC this year, but they do get to face the 11-1 Texas Longhorns who feel that they should be playing in Miami a few days later for the BCS championship. The last time OSU played the Fiesta they won, but the last time they played UT they lost.
MY PICK: It cracks me up that 2 time BCS loser Jim Tressel has a book out on winning at life! UT in a route.
• BCS Championship, Dolphins Stadium in Miami
OU brings a 4 game BCS losing streak, including 2 championship games, into the big one to face the home state team, the Florida Gators. Both teams are have a single loss and Heisman winning QB’s…Tim Tebow last year, Sam Bradford this year. Tebow and the Gators have been on a mission since losing at home to Ole Miss early in the season while OU were playing for style points to wrap up the season putting up basketball game type scores week to week. Both teams can and will probably put up a butt-load of points, but I think the team that can play the best defense will pull it out…and lets face it, the Big 12 has no defense.
MY PICK: Florida will be the 2nd team to win a 2nd BCS championship and keep it in the SEC for yet another year.
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