Before we start, let me pick a game I saw on ESPN's website, but cannot verify anywhere else. Apparently, someone recognized the success of Temple's season, and matched them with a competitor. Temple is playing UCLA somewhere; while the Bruins are more experienced in bowl games, I like the Owls chances. More and more first time bowlers, or teams who haven't been to a bowl in a long time, are winning the smaller bowls. Let's hear it for the Temple Owls, and root for their success.
Now to the widely advertised bowls:
Saturday, Dec 19th
New Mexico Bowl - Fresno State Bulldogs v Wyoming Cowboys: The Cowboys have been too inconsistent this season. Fresno State faced some tough opponents, and played them close enough that we know they have good stuff. Those teams tend to shine in bowls. FRESNO STATE
St Petersburg Bowl - Central Florida Golden Knights v Rutgers Scarlet Knights: I'd love to pick Rutgers. They fight hard, and the Golden Knights have been susceptible to being overpowered. However, I think the home crowd will provide a boost to the Golden Knights. The Scarlet Knights have been a fierce road team, though, so they'll keep this game close, and could pull off the victory. CENTRAL FLORIDA
Sunday Dec 20th - New Orleans Bowl - Southern Miss Golden Eagles v Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders: Let's face it, the Sun Belt teams don't have a good record in bowl games. They just don't play tough enough competition during the season to prepare for tougher teams. Southern Miss may be Conference USA, but they've faced much tougher competition. SOUTHERN MISS
Tuesday Dec 22nd - Las Vegas Bowl - Oregon State Beavers v #11 BYU Cougars: The Beavers get up for Pac-10 opponents, but they have trouble beating ranked teams from outside the conference. I don't think they can slow down the BYU offense, and they won't be able to keep up. BYU
Wed Dec 23rd - Poinsettia Bowl - #17 Utah Utes v California Golden Bears: The second consecutive bowl pitting the Pac-10 against the Mountain West, and I favor the smaller conference again. The BCS is considering giving the Mountain West winner an automatic bid in the future, and all five bowl teams are determined to prove their worth in an effort to build support for that decision. Utah has been very competitive in their bowl games, and they should be so again this year. UTAH
Thurs Dec 24th - Hawaii Bowl - Nevada Wolfpack v SMU Mustangs: I'd love to see SMU win, as they rarely reach a bowl game. However, the Wolfpack have been a strong team throughout the year, and they pressured some very talented teams. They should do well in this bowl. They're also less likely to be distracted by the locale - they play Hawaii every year. NEVADA
Sat Dec 26th
Little Caesars Bowl - Marshall Thundering Herd v Ohio Bobcats: The MAC has been tough this season, so Ohio has been battle-hardened for this game. Heck, they played in the MAC title game! Marshall played well, but they were only a mediocre team in the Conference USA. OHIO
Meineke Car Care Bowl - #16 Pittsburgh Panthers v North Carolina Tar Heels: Pitt almost won the Big East! Their defense couldn't hold back Cincinnati, but I think they can hold back North Carolina. PITT
Emerald Bowl - Boston College Eagles v USC Trojans: USC plays tough in bowl games, but they've been in BCS games for the past six years. Will they be disappointed to relegated to a minor bowl like this? If so, BC is capable of knocking them off. The Trojans are used to the Hollywood-type high life; this bowl will be a disappointment. I don't think they'll take it too seriously, allowing BC to knock them around. BOSTON COLLEGE
Sunday Dec 27th - Music City Bowl - Kentucky Wildcats v Clemson Tigers: Kentucky's season was somewhat disappointing, while Clemson battled for the ACC title. This game won't be pretty, as we may have the first real blowout of the bowls. CLEMSON
Monday Dec 28th - Independence Bowl - Texas A&M Aggies v Georgia Bulldogs: The Aggies played some stiff competition, but I can't ignore how tough the Bulldogs played Georgia Tech at the end of the season. If they show that same level of spunk in this game, they can't lose. GEORGIA
Tues Dec 29th - Champs Sports Bowl - #22 Miami Hurricanes v #21 Wisconsin Badgers: Both were unbeaten in non-conference play, but Wisconsin won bigger, against tougher opponents. As highly as the national press lauded Miami this season, I can't get over the fact that they had a negative point spread against FBS teams midway in the season. WISCONSIN
Wed Dec 30th
Humanitarian Bowl - Bowling Green Falcons v Idaho Vandals: The Falcons have the bowl experience, but the Vandals have the home crowd on their side. That may not bother Bowling Green - they were four of six in road games this season - but it'll really boost the Vandals. Idaho is not used to playing in a bowl game, but the home crowd will help remove that feel, and make it seem like a regular home game. That might be enough to boost Idaho to a rare bowl win. IDAHO
Holiday Bowl - Arizona Wildcats at #20 Nebraska Cornhuskers: Arizona closed their season by upsetting USC, but that was clearly the highlight of their season. The Wildcats had some good wins, and closed the season stronger than they began, but I don't know if they were consistently strong. Nebraska had strong victories this season, against strong teams. That seems convincing to me. NEBRASKA
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