NCAA Football: Picking the Bowls!

Picking bowl games is notoriously difficult. Teams are playing out of conference with styles they aren't familiar with; millions of coaching changes have happened; injured players come back; and of course there's the now infamous month off (cough Big Ten cough). So even considering all of that, I'm picking them all! If I get 20 out of 32 I'll be thrilled.

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia (aka Mexican Flame Leaf) Bowl:Utah over Navy.
Most people know that I have a long-standing and irrational love for the midshipmen, maybe its the triple option, maybe its the cute boys in uniforms, but its there. I want them to succeed. Unfortunately, with a new coach of two weeks they aren't going to beat a Utah team that's on a role this season and has won 6 straight bowls.

New Orleans Bowl: Florida Atlantic over Memphis.
In FAU's first bowl appearance, coach Howard Schnellenberger will make sure its their first bowl win.

Papajohns.com bowl: Cincinnati over Southern Miss.
The Big East really needs better bowl tie-ins. The Bearcats can name their score against an overmatched Southern Miss that fired a coach for 14 straight winning seasons.

New Mexico Bowl: Nevada over New Mexico.
Go Wolfpack, not that anyone cares. At least this useless bowl isn't in Boise.

Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl: BYU over UCLA.
Its seems like a lifetime ago since (10-2) BYU lost to (7-5) UCLA (now coach-less). I'll day BYU 28-14.

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl: Boise State over ECU.
I think Skip Holtz at ECU is a quality coach, but the pirates are overmatched in this one.

Motor City Bowl: Purdue over Central Michigan.
I really hate rematches over regular season blowouts.

Pacific Life Holiday Bowl: Arizona State over Texas.
Once again, the BCS screws the Pac-10. I've said it all year, Texas sucks.

Champs Sports Bowl: Boston College over Michigan State.
Oh BC, you really don't belong in the ACC. Here we have an ACC divisional champion against a 3-5 Big 10 team. With match-ups like this, no wonder BC has won 8 straight bowl games.

Texas Bowl:TCU over Houston.
I don't know anything about these teams, so I'm picking the one that didn't just lose its coach.

Emerald Bowl: Oregon State over Maryland.

Meineke Car Care Bowl: UConn over Wake.
I think this is one of the better match-ups of the entire bowl season and should be a better game than many a BCS bowl.

Autozone Liberty Bowl: UCF over Miss State.
Upset alert! Miss State has had a nice run, but the SEC has been terrible out of conference.

Valero Alamo Bowl: Penn State over Texas A&M.
Two of college footballs proudest programs, neither of which has done anything lately. Once again, picking the one with a coach.

PetroSun independence Bowl: Alabama over Colorado.
I'm really tempted to pick Colorado in this one, considering Saban is obviously having a tough time in Tuscaloosa if he asked to go to WVU, but this one's in his old Louisiana stomping grounds. And Colorado is not a good team.

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl: Air Force over Cal.
Oh Cal, you were number one for ten minutes and now this. How did you beat Oregon and Tennessee?

Roady's Humanitarian Bowl: Fresno over Georgia Tech.
This is my last chance to mention the Chan Gailey equilibrium, since he's finally been fired. For sad.

Brut Sun Bowl: USF over Oregon.
Sorry Oregon, without Dixon you haven't won a game.

Gaylords Hotels Music City Bowl: Kentucky over Florida State.
This is one that I want to watch, only to see how a team functions with 25 suspended players...maybe Bowden should just leave now.

Insight Bowl: Oklahoma State over Indiana.

Chick-fil-a Bowl: Clemson over Auburn.
This should be a good one, but Clemson has too many weapons on offense and Auburn doesn't really have any.

Outback Bowl: Wisconsin over Tennessee.
This might be the best match-up out there. I like the Badgers.

AT&T Cotton Bowl: Missouri over Arkansas.
This is a let down game for Mizzou and -- naw, they are just way better than the Razorbacks.

Gator Bowl: Texas Tech over UVA.
Sorry Cavs, but no one in the ACC has this kind of firepower.

Capitol One Bowl: Florida 70, Michigan 10.
This is one of the worst match-up of any bowl game. After what Amanti Edwards did to the Great Blue Satan, I'm predicting Tebow will score 10 TDs. And I will enjoy even second. I hope a stray punt knocks out the Great Blue Satan's new coach, the Traitorous Scum too.

Rose Bowl: USC 45, Illinois 7.
Look Rose Bowl, I know that you want to have a Big Ten team but come on, why do you keep giving us shit like this? All these games do is make USC look like gods against a crap conference, which makes them number one next year and then disappoints people when they realize that throttling anyone from the Big Ten is no big deal.

Sugar Bowl: Georgia 42, Hawaii 35.
Haven't picked the Rainbow Warriors yet this season, why start now?

Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma 28(or maybe 45), WVU 17.
Whatever. We suck. And have no coach. We lost to Pitt (PITT!). My thoughts on the sorry state of WVU football are like one long emo ballad of depression. Pat White might keep this close by sheer will along.

Orange Bowl: Virginia Tech 30, Kansas 10.
Well if VT won't do me the favor I really want from them - being swallowed into the Earth that is - they can at least prove that KU doesn't belong in this game.

International Bowl: Rutgers over Ball State.
Another Big East bowl game, another colossal over-match.

GMAC Bowl: Tulsa over Bowling Green.

National Championship: LSU 42, OSU 7 or LSU 28, OSU 24.
I really can't decide if this will be an LSU blow-out or if the Tigers will do their usual this year and win it on a miracle fourth-quarter play. Regardless, I am now OSU's biggest fan, for at least one game a year. I hope they never lose to Michigan again. O H I O!