Here's what the stories of the Bowl Season will be:
1. Playoffs?! I just read that NCAA President Myles Brand supports a "plus-one" plan to involve a 4 team playoff. The BCS can't change until after the current biggest-monopoly-in-sports contract expires in 2009. I am confident 2010 will be the birth of a playoff system.
2. Big 10 doesn't show up again. 3 of the Big Ten's 8 opponents were ranked 1 or 2 at some point in the season and 5 are currently ranked #16 or higher (compared to only 2 Big 10 Teams). I have them going 2-6; I think they are a solid lock to lose at least 4.
3. Almost Every Florida team going bowling.... except Miami?! This would sound absolutely ridiculous 3 or 4 years ago. Florida Atlantic, Central Florida, South Florida, Florida State, and Florida are playing on while Miami's program has gone down hill fast. The only other one staying at home is perennial "Bottom 10" placeholder, 1-11 Florida International. There was a segment on College Gameday this year about how schools like South Florida are growing exponentially by throwing more money into their athletic programs. Their lower academic standards are luring top recruits that can't play at schools like Miami and it's working. How did Miami finish 2-6 in the ACC?
4. Distractions. What effect will coaching changes have on Arkansas, Michigan, West Virginia, Georgia Tech, Houston, Navy, Southern Miss, Texas A&M, and UCLA? A major one if I'm right - I have all 9 losing in their bowls.
Poinsettia Utah over Navy
New Orleans Memphis over Florida Atlantic
Papajohns.com Cincinnati over Southern Miss
New Mexico Are you allowed to pick anyone to defeat New Mexico in their bowl game? I can't... New Mexico over Nevada
Las Vegas BYU over UCLA
Hawaii Boise St over East Carolina
Motor City Upset special... CMU defeats Purdue
Holiday Second best non-BCS matchup - Arizona St over Texas
Champs Sports Huge mismatch. BC big over MSU
Texas It is a true Texas matchup, I like it. TCU over Houston
Emerald "Crabcakes and football..." sorry, not this time. Oregon State over Maryland
Meineke Car Care Great basketball game... UConn over Wake Forest
Liberty Mississippi State over UCF
Alamo Penn State over Texas A&M
Independence Alabama over Colorado
Armed Forces Same rule as the New Mexico Bowl... can't go against the Armed Force in their game. Air Force over Cal
Humanitarian Fresno State over Georgia Tech
Sun Dennis Dixon not playing? This one's easy. South Florida over Oregon
Music City 25 FSU players out? This one's even easier. Kentucky over Florida State
Insight Indiana over Oklahoma State
Chick-fil-A Auburn over Clemson
Outback Tennessee over Wisconsin
Cotton Best non-BCS matchup. Missouri over Arkansas
Gator Texas Tech over Virginia
Capital One Michigan's weakness: spread offense. Best spread offense team in the country: Florida. Happy retirement, Lloyd. Your reward is to be massacred on New Year's. Florida over Michigan
Rose USC over Illinois
Sugar Georgia over Hawaii
Fiesta Oklahoma over West Virginia
Orange Virginia Tech over Kansas
International Rutgers over Ball State
GMAC Tulsa over Bowling Green
BCS National Championship LSU over Ohio State
3 comments:
The one thing I will say about your picks is that you have a lot of favorites- especially in the bigger bowls. Isn't this college football season the year of the upset???
I worry about the Big 10. Each team is like a cow in a truck heading towards the slaughterhouse. Although I think MSU will hold its own against B.C. I have a feeling B.C. will come in a little rusty, overconfident, and not as into the game (afterall, they were at one point in the national title game). MSU should be hungry and fired up for this bowl appearance against a top-25 school. Again, should be.
Did you by chance read that article on ESPN.com about the gifts players receive for going to the bowls? I had no idea they received gifts, or that they were allowed to. Just interesting to me. You should check it out if you haven't.
Yes. I am a sham. I picked way too many favorites. I like the CMU/Purdue upset, a Florida Atlantic or East Carolina upset, and possibly a West Virginia upset over Oklahoma. Unofficially, of course. I don't have the cajhones to pick that.
My pick: MSU beats BC so badly that the NCAA president is forced to implement the plus-1 format this year.
MSU jumps the entire top-25 to become the consensus #1 ranked team, and crushes #2 LSU in the newly created championship game.
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