Yesterday, in Part I of our bowl previews, we gave you all of the pre-New Year’s bowl game matchups. Now, we’re getting into the really good stuff…as today, we’ve got the non-BCS New Year’s and post-New Year’s bowls to preview for you!
Outback Bowl – Iowa (8-4) vs. South Carolina (7-5) – ESPN – 1/1 – 11AM
Trey: Obviously, the SEC is down this year…my biggest gripe about Spurrier these days is that his offense is stagnant and much more conservative than in his days in Gainesville. I guess the NFL will do that to you. Smelly/Garcia/Spurrier himself throw 3 picks and Iowa wins a close game.
Miz: This is a perfect opportunity for South Cackalacky to blow on national television again and I think they won’t hesitate to take full advantage. The Cocks miss 4 field goals and Iowa wins.
Konica Minolta Gator Bowl- Clemson (7-5) vs. Nebraska (8-4) - CBS – 1/1 – 1pM
Trey: The Gator Bowl went with this simply to fill seats in their struggling bowl game. It’s really not a talent level attractive matchup to counter the Georgia/Michigan State game on at the same time. That being said, Clemson’s message boards will lighting up with “Fire Dabo” after this one.
Miz: So Clemson pulled a West Virginia and hired the former assistant-turned-interim head coach, except Clemson probably picked a good guy in Dabo Swinney (who led the Tigers to a 4-2 record including a 31-14 pasting of the in-state rival South Cackalacky Cocks after Tommy Bowden got resigned for his 3-3 start). Nebraska’s head coach is Bo Pellini has his team in a good bowl game in his first year. I’m going Clemson here…don’t think it’s the same choking Clemson as before and I think the Huskers have some holes that can be exploited.
Capitol One Bowl - Michigan State (9-3) vs. Georgia (9-3) - ABC – 1/1 – 1PM
Trey: Remember when Georgia was supposed to be an unstoppable force that was going to win the National Championship? That team will be in Orlando on New Years Day. Georgia…big (sorry bossman).
Miz: I’m pretty pumped about this game! Two of the best-hyped running backs in the nation will be on opposite sidelines from each other. Knowshon Moreno (over-hyped in my opinion) for Georgia can be pretty spectacular but Javon Ringer of Sparty is better. MSU hands the ball to Ringer 40 times and wins by a score.
AT&T Cotton Bowl - Texas Tech (11-1) vs. Mississippi (8-4) - Fox – 1/2 – 2PM
Trey: Mississippi has been much better than people (including myself) figured them to be this year. Their defensive line should be good enough to keep Texas Tech on their heels, but a few late scores puts this game away.
Miz: Ole Miss is so much better under Houston Nutt than they were under Coach O that it’s a bit scary for those of us in the SEC that have gotten used to counting Ole Miss as a “W” and moving along. I’m a little concerned about Texas Tech too. It seems to me that since the Oklahoma debacle, they’ve been a little out of sync and kinda backpeddling. Losing for the first time usually galvanizes good teams (see Florida and Oklahoma) and motivates them to kick some tail. The Red Raiders seem to be doing the opposite so I’m going with the Rebels here in the upset.
AutoZone Liberty Bowl - East Carolina (9-4) vs. Kentucky (6-6) – ESPN – 1/2 – 5PM
Trey: Unlike my counterpart, I’m glad we have football on the 2nd, I’m off and have another excuse to veg out. ECU started the year hot, but injuries tore this team apart. I think UK wins this one, but it’s very close.
Miz: Congratulations to Kentucky for sucking and managing to get a bowl post-New Year’s. Actually, maybe that’s more of an indictment on the asinine bowl system. Either way, ECU waxes some Wildcat ass…unless Skip Holtz is gone by then and not coaching the game. Then, I’ve got Kentucky in a snoozer. (Trey Note: Way to sack up, Miz…)
International Bowl - Connecticut (7-5) vs. Buffalo (8-5) – ESPN2 – 1/3 – 12PM
Trey: A bowl game in Toronto? Is it REALLY that International? I mean, it’s like 5 minutes from the US border. International to me is like France, England, or Johnson City, TN. And on that topic, this game should be by Canadian rules. 110 yard field, 3 downs, and rouges (whatever those are). Oh, the game…UConn.
Miz: Congratulations to both teams for securing the only bowl game all day. Buffalo can beat UConn and I think they will. That’s all you’re getting from me on this one. I got hate mail last time I picked a UConn football game. By the way, I was right.
GMAC Bowl - Tulsa (10-3) vs. Ball State (12-1) – ESPN – 1/6 – 8PM
Trey: DRINKING GAME ALERT: Every time they mention David Letterman, chug. Every time they show Letterman, live or taped, finish it. Ball State wins going away.
Miz: Again, congratulations to both teams for securing the only bowl game all day. This game should be better than the UConn/Buffalo game though. This one actually features two good teams from lesser conferences. Ball State was undefeated heading into their conference championship game, which you can infer that they lost based on the context clues I’ve given you. This should be a high scoring and entertaining game; Tulsa led CUSA with 47 ppg and hung 77 on UTEP while Ball State was winning all but one of their regular season games by double digits. I’m taking Tulsa here, with total points scored between the two nearing triple digits.
Don’t forget to check us out Monday in our regularly-scheduled TWTWCFB timeslot as we’ll have the preview for each of the BCS games.
Popularity: 1% [?]
trey will lose to Miz by 1 in picking these games. sparty(Quote)
Don’t forget, teams not named tOSU win bowl games against the SEC. MSU beats Georgia and Iowa beats USC to keep this alive. TT pounds Miss, and I would love to see ECU beat Kentucky. If the SEC goes 0-4 on New Year’s Day, that would be the best start to a new year ever. natsfan74(Quote)
I think you’ll be pleased, natsfan. the SEC will go 1-3; no way Texas Tech pounds Ole Miss. mizerle06(Quote)
I guess I forgot to mention — Mississippi has one of the 4 wins the SEC has this year against a currently ranked team (they beat Florida). (the other 3 – Florida over Alabama, and both of them beat Georgia). Nutt has a chance to pull this off. If MSU beats Georgia, and Georgia finishes unranked, then the SEC could conceivably (but improbably) finish as a conference with only 2 wins all year vs. a ranked team. With 12 teams, 4 non-conference games each, there are 48 opportunities to excel. In fairness, it’s not Alabama’s fault that Clemson sucks. natsfan74(Quote)
natsfan-those comments made my day. sparty(Quote)
with your accuracy in your math and visceral hatred of the perceived SEC dominance, I surmise you’re a Michigan grad, no? mizerle06(Quote)
or you’re pandering to the bossman? mizerle06(Quote)
Actually, I’m an Army grad – but a Buckeyes Fan. We didn’t help our cause this year with the loss to USC, but in the past 4 years, tOSU has played the #2 team in the nation 6 times (Texas twice 1-1, Michigan 1-0, UF/ LSU 0-2, USC 0-1). The only #2 on that list who will not win a National Championship in the year it beats tOSU is USC – and they could probably beat either team in the BCS Championship game this year. natsfan74(Quote)
Sparty, I expect to win by more than one. gatortrey(Quote)
natsfan,
I’m not denying USC couldn’t beat Oklahoma or Florida. But if you think they’ve looked better than either, your crazy. gatortrey(Quote)
In bowls I usually root for the Big East but as a hater, I root against the ACC. I don’t have the same dislike for the SEC, Big 12, 10 or Pac10.
Just to keep a previous thread going to natsfan,
I think Army needs to state that if a football player is drafted, he will be allowed to pursue it. Otherwise, like you said, no player with a shot at the pros would ever attend. Also, it will be interesting to see who army hires. We have a West Point grad here at work who is not happy about the state of affairs – needless to say.
On another note, the Syracuse deal is done. Marrone will be the new head coach. Considering everything, I think the school did great. Several guys pulled their name out of the hat such as Edsall and Skip Holtz. I am not sure what happened with Turner Gil but he will be leaving for a major program soon.
Marrone has a great resume. Former Captain at Syracuse so we have some possiblity of longevity and loyalty. He has experience in college and also running the Saints offense. Granted he doesn’t currently call plays but overall, I think it is as good a hire as could be expected. cycledan(Quote)
trey-expect all you want…but you are no Tebow. sparty(Quote)
Not many of us are. gatortrey(Quote)
Top Non-Conference Opponents
SEC Big 10
Florida – FSU/ Miami PSU – Oregon State
Alabama – Clemson tOSU – USC
Georgia – Georgia Tech Iowa – Iowa State
Ol’ Miss – Wake Forest Wisky – Fresno St.
LSU – Tulane Illinois – Missouri
Tennessee – UCLA Purdue – Oregon
Arkansas – Texas MSU – Cal
South Carolina – Clemson Indiana – Ball State
Vanderbilt – Wake Forest Minnesota – Northern Illinois
Kentucky – Louisville Michigan – Utah
Miss. St. – Ga. Tech Northwestern – Syracuse
Auburn – West Virginia natsfan74(Quote)
how are you not counting Northern Illinois as a Top Non-Conference Opponent for Tennessee? your list is bunk. mizerle06(Quote)
The SEC played more BCS teams out of conference than the Big 10 did… gatortrey(Quote)
You think Northern Illinois is better than UCLA? I guess that gives even more credit to Minnesota, since I thought they had the weakest team on here – at least in terms of name recognition. natsfan74(Quote)
you are right, Northen Ill was definitely a top non-conf opponent for UT. Not the other way around. sparty(Quote)
Yes, the SEC did play more BCS teams…. in fact, only one SEC team had a schedule without any (LSU). But, I’d put Michigan’s game against Utah or Wisconsin’s game at Fresno State at least equal with the BCS losses the SEC suffered to Wake Forest (x 2). And, most of those SEC non-conference games are regional rivalries Florida/ FSU, USC/CLEM, UGA/GT, and even Ark/Tex used to be one. The Big 10 doesn’t quite have that type of rivalry as the only B10 team that shares its state with other BCS Schools are Iowa (Iowa St) and ND is in Indiana. I didn’t count that 3 B10 teams played ND this year. natsfan74(Quote)
sparty with the wicked burn knightwhosaysni(Quote)
Nat you can’t do that.
When schedules were made 7-8 yearas ago, could you honestly say UCLA was gonna be a scuk game if your UT?
What about Florida with Miami and FSU?
As for annual regional rivalries, what is Iowa/Iowa State; ND/Michigan; ND/Michigan State; ND/Purdue? gatortrey(Quote)
Sorry, add an outright SEC hatred with the slowest day of the year at work, and I get a bit out of hand. But, I bet the Big 12 would look pretty pathetic if I had time to look them up as well. I do think that’s a bit of a geography thing as well — the Big 12 only has Iowa State and Colorado who share states with big programs. natsfan74(Quote)
Like I said, I didn’t count ND as anyone’s big game this year as they sucked. I think Utah, Cal, and Oregon were all better. And, I think Tennessee does a good job scheduling, playing Cal two years in a row, then UCLA (who probably was good when the schedule was made). I think Florida does a good job, and it isnt’ their fault Miami and FSU both kinda suck right now. But, you think those SEC teams were making stretch goals when they scheduled Wake Forest 8 years ago? Or even Georgia Tech?
I think geography has a huge say in this — the ACC and the SEC share a lot of common ground, so they play a lot against eachother. The Big 10 has to search for games like that. The closest thing the B10 has is really the Illinois game against Missouri in St. Louis every year. But, for strength of schedule, there are the 3 B10 games against ND every year, and Ohio State has 1 more with USC, then 2 with Miami, 2 with Virginia Tech, 2 with Oklahoma. That’s pretty impressive and has nothing to do with a regional rivalry. natsfan74(Quote)
NEW POSTS!!!
Big D’s week 15 picks are up and there’s another post with some stunning intelectualism handed out, free of charge. mizerle06(Quote)
Did you boys forget that Ohio State embarrassed Notre Dame? That was the end to BQ’s college career. They beat Miami in the NC game too, even though everyone thinks it was because of the bad call. Jen(Quote)
Jen=but tOSU loses to the SEC all the time. sparty(Quote)
who cares? I don’t like the SEC. Jen(Quote)