College Football Bowl Pick-off, Round Five

Look, some bowl games are duds. That's just the way it's going to be. But for every bowl game that's unenjoyable to watch, you just hope that there will be one that's a thriller. So everyone in college football nation can thank Idaho and Bowling Green, and if that phrase has ever been uttered before, I'd like to meet the man.

The game they played yesterday was a classic in every sense of the word, and who cares if it was between two ridiculous programs. Great decision by the Idaho coach to go for 2 and the win - it's a bowl game, might as well say screw it.

Here's to hoping for more Idaho-Bowling Greens in 2010

Thursday: Armed Forces Bowl - Houston (-4.5) vs Air Force
Excellent rematch of last year's Armed Forces Bowl, excellent matchup of offense and defense and you gotta admit that it's hard to turn away from highlights whenever Houston plays...Case Keenum throws for 500 yards and it's just another day in the life. I'm honestly not sure why this spread isn't great - I'd set it at Houston -8 if my name were Vegas, but it's not, so the pick here is the high-flying offense. Found's pick: Houston

Thursday: Sun Bowl - Oklahoma (-7.5) vs Stanford
Am I missing something here? Oklahoma is favored by more than a touchdown? Doesn't Stanford enter as the team with a better ranking, better record and Toby Gerhart. Doesn't Oklahoma still not have Sam Bradford? I'd feel more confident in picking Stanford if QB Andrew Luck was healthy, and if their coach wasn't going to his first bowl game. But let's be honest, Bob Stoops doesn't have a tremendous recent track record in bowls. Tough pick here, but the points push me towards the Cardinal. Found's pick: The Tree

Thursday: Texas Bowl - Missouri (-6.5) vs Navy
Love what Navy is doing and hate how inconsistent Mizzou has been on the season. They probably shoulda been a 9-3 team this year and could've been in the Big 12 title game instead of Nebraska if they didn't blow a game to the Huskers. However, Danario Alexander is a pretty ridiculous wideout and I'm not sure if Navy can make up ground if they fall behind early. Found's pick: Mizzou

Thursday: Insight Bowl - Minnesota (-2.5) vs Iowa State
This bowl is absolutely atrocious and I'm not going to waste words on it. Iowa State does not belong in a major conference. Found's pick: Minnesota

Thursday: Peach Bowl - Virginia Tech (-4.5) vs Tennessee
I'd actually like a better matchup for Va. Tech here...not sure that Tennessee is quite worthy. None of Va. Tech's three losses this year were to bad teams (though think of how damaging that home loss to the Heels was - Tech could be riding much higher right now). Tennessee has lost to UCLA and badly to Ole Miss. Hokies take care of business here and represent the ACC well. Found's pick: Virginia Tech

My last picks of 2009 (thank god)

First off, I hope everyone has a safe night and rings in 2010 successfully (read: using Jan 31 as an excuse to get girls to make out with you). I showed some sings of life in the last round of picks, going 3-1, so hopefully I can get this thing turned around as we hit the real meat of the bowl season. 10 games in just two days - should be fun.

Air Force +4.5 over Houston

Houston has a theme this year - they absolutely crush bad teams, but then they either lose or win squeakers over solid teams. Air Force is solid, so I'm expecting a close one. Plus, it's the ARMED FORCES BOWL! How can you pick against the United States Air Force in that one?

Oklahoma -7.5 over Stanford

I've actually changed my mind on this one at least twice. Stanford has been impressive this year, but Oklahoma really looked good against Oklahoma State. Stanford is playing a true freshman quarterback in Andrew Luck, and he hasn't seen a defense this year as good as the Sooners unit he'll see today. I think OU wins this one by 10 or so, which coincidentally, is what the betting line has moved to in Vegas since opening at this 7.5 number we're using.

Missouri -6.5 over Navy

I love America, but I can't take both of the service academies in the same round. I think Missouri has the type of offense that will give the less athletic Navy defense some problems. Also, I always think that option-based offenses are differentially hurt during bowl season because the opposing defense gets a full month to prepare.

Minnesota -2.5 over Iowa State

Wow. This bowl is awful. 6-6 vs. 6-6? How can you even promote that if you're working for the Insight Bowl - "Mediocrity's Last Shot"? I'm going to take the Gophers here because I respect them for moving out of a dome into an outdoor stadium this year. Also, Tubby Smith is a better coach than Larry Eustachy ever was.

Tennessee +4.5 over Virginia Tech

It pains me to pick the SEC over the ACC here, but I think this is the worst possible matchup VT could've drawn. If they were playing Georgia or Auburn, I would like the Hokies to roll. But the Vols are built very similarly to UNC this year. Both teams rely on a strong defense and a conservative, run-based offense. So basically, they'll be giving VT a dose of their own medicine. Unfortunately, I've got NYE plans that will prevent me from watching this game, even though I'll be within a mile of the damn stadium while it's going on. FML.

That's it for today. I'll be back tomorrow with another full slate of picks.

Happy New Years everybody.

Oltzy New Year's Eve Picks

It's New Year's Eve, which can only mean one thing: tons of great football on. Also, how about that Idaho-Bowling Green game? That was incredible.

Nebraska saved me a Byrum-like performance in the last round of picks. Here's hoping for a New Year's Eve comeback.

Armed Forces Bowl, ESPN, 12 PM, Houston (-4.5) vs Air Force

Air Force seems like they've had a better-than-expected team for the past several seasons, and it's easy to like them as a bit of an upset in the Armed Forces Bowl. Houston, though, has a win over Oklahoma State this season and I think clearly has the higher ceiling with Case Keenum at QB. If they come to play, I think they roll. And I think they come to play. Big Bob's pick: Houston

Brut Sun Bowl, CBS, 2 PM, Oklahoma (-7.5) vs Stanford

Toby Gerhart is an absolute man of a running back, but OU's defense, for all of the team's problems this season, has been relatively consistent. Before the Bedlam game, I would have gone Stanford here without thinking too hard about it, but it's really hard to get that 27-0 beating of OK State out of my head. Stanford's defense, too, has been vulnerable. In the end, though, I'll stick with my gut and take Stanford to cover, if not outright win. Big Bob's pick: Stanford

Texas Bowl, ESPN, 3:30 PM, Missouri (-6.5) vs Navy

I'm very impressed with the consistent program that has been built and now continued in Annapolis. Missouri, on the other hand, is a difficult team to figure out. They've got 8 wins, but none of them are very impressive. Still, they're in the Big 12, which means they should ultimately wear down the Midshipmen, especially up front. Big Bob's pick: Missouri.

Insight Bowl, NFL Network, 6 PM, Minnesota (-2.5) vs Iowa State

There is exactly one bowl not televised by ESPN or a major network. This is it. Wow. Why does this bowl still exist? Does it make money? Big Bob's pick: Minnesota.

Peach Bowl, ESPN, 7:30, Virginia Tec (-4.5) vs Tennessee

The ACC has been horrible in bowls so far, going a mighty 0-3 with only one truly close game, the Heels' heartbreaker to Pitt. The conference badly needs the Hokies to pull off a win over the SEC's middle-of-the-road Vols, and I think they can. With a month to prepare for Tennessee's fairly vanilla offense, I like Bud Foster's D's chances to slow them down. It could be ugly, but I think VT pulls one out. Big Bob's pick: Virginia Tech.

Updated records:

Found: 10-5

Oltzy: 7-8

Byrum: 4-11

Big Bob's Round 4 Picks: Brought, to you From Utah

First, let me say that although I'm late with these picks, they were made before the Independence Bowl today. My apologies for not posting sooner, but I've been traveling all day with my family out to Utah and have not had internet access to post.

Second, these will be short and sweet because they were written on the airplane.

Third, at least I'm not Byrum.

Independence Bowl, Dec 28th, ESPN2, 5 PM, Texas A&M vs Georgia (-7.5)

It's hard not to like Jerrod Johnson, the Aggies' stud freshman QB, but it's easy to not like Mike Sherman, who is in general a clown of a head coach. Also, Georgia has the better talent by far, though for the second season in a row they've underachieved a little bit due to lack of discipline. I think they get it together for this one. Big Bob's pick: Georgia.

EagleBank Bowl, Dec 29th, ESPN, 4:30, UCLA (-3.5) vs Temple

Temple hasn't been to a bowl game in like 20 years, so you know they'll be emotionally invested in this game. UCLA, on the other hand, is a thoroughly mediocre 6-6 Pac 10 team that has to travel across the country to Washington DC to play in a bowl game. Give me the upset here. Big Bob's pick: Temple.

Champs Sports Bowl, Dec 29th, ESPN, 8 PM, Miami (-2.5) vs Wisconsin

Miami has athletes on their team that Wisconsin can only dream about. Stop it. Big Bob's pick: Miami.

Humanitarian Bowl, Dec 30th, ESPN, 4:30 PM, Bowling Green (-0.5) vs Idaho

Clearly, I don't know much about either of these teams except for these hilarious Idaho uniforms from a few years ago. However, the Vandals enter this game having lost 4 of 5 while Bowling Green has won 6 of 7. That's enough for me. Big Bob's pick: Bowling Green.

Holiday Bowl, Dec 30th, ESPN, 8 PM, Arizona (-1.5) vs Nebraska

Nebraska is a tough team to figure out, given that their defense has been great all season while their offense has been very inconsistent. Still, they did give Texas' offense all it could handle in the Big 12 Championship game, something which makes me think they can handle Arizona's. Big Bob's pick: Nebraska.

Updated records:

Found: 6-4

Oltzy: 5-5

Byrum: 1-9

College Football Bowl Pick-off, Round Four

I am running out of ways to describe just how terrible Byrum is at picking these games. His atrociousness to date is simply astounding. He has ONLY ONE WIN, and that came because he had to pick UNC and because they covered the spread by a measly half a point.

Will Byrum: the Washington State of the Bowl Pick-Off

Monday: Independence Bowl - Georgia (-7.5) vs Texas A&M
What a down year for the Dawgs. They just don't have a ton of excuses either, especially with a 5th-year senior QB. But they can't be so bad that they lose to A&M in the bowl, right? The huge spread is the thing that makes this pick difficult, but I just think UGA has to salvage something out of this year. Found's pick: Georgia

Tuesday: EagleBank Bowl - UCLA (-3.5) vs Temple
Not going to waste your time. One team has potential to be a program on the rise, the other team is Temple. Found's pick: UCLA

Tuesday: Champs Sports Bowl - Miami (-2.5) vs Wisconsin
Love this game, love this matchup, have gone back and forth on this pick a ton. I had no faith in Wisconsin all season and still really don't, but they played Iowa tough in a classic Big Ten defense/running/ugly game late in the season, and if they can replicate that performance, they win. Miami lost to the Heels, yes, but let's be real - they're 9-3, none of the 3 losses were bad and they should take care of business in this one. Found's pick: The U

Wednesday: Humanitarian Bowl - Bowling Green (-0.5) vs Idaho
Game in Boise, Idaho did some things this year, Bowling Green will make more news this week for being Urban Meyer's former coaching gig rather than anything they do in this game. Plus who doesn't love taking the points on a 0.5 point spread? Found's pick: Idaho

Wednesday: Holiday Bowl - Arizona (-1.5) vs Nebraska
Another tremendous matchup, another case where the spread essentially means nothing, and another game where I've gone back and forth. My hat is off to Arizona for having a strong season, staying ranked for a while, playing the Hawkeyes on the road and losing, and putting together a decent program in Tucson. Nebraska needs some redemption, though, after the Big 12 Championship and this is the only way they can get it. Hopefully Ndamukong Suh finishes his college career with a bang. Found's pick: Nebraska

Jesus, this is bad

Ladies and gentlemen, you are witnessing history right now. I am now 1-9 picking against the spread thru 10 games of bowl season. To put that in perspective, there are 1,024 different ways to pick 10 games. Only 11 of them would have resulted in fewer than 2 correct picks. That means you have a 98.9% chance of getting at least 2 games right if you were just throwing darts at a board. However, I have managed to land in the other 1.1%. I feel like I ate a whole wheel of cheese and pooped in the refrigerator. I'm not even mad. I'm actually impressed.

To add insult to injury, the only game I've picked right thus far was the UNC game. Too bad that when I actually bet $150 on the Heels in real life, the line had moved down to UNC +1 (instead of +2.5 like we used for the blog challenge). That meant that not only did UNC lose a heartbreaker, but the failed to cover by a single point and I lost $165 to twist the knife a little deeper.

Sorry for that rant. On to the next round of picks...


Georgia -7.5 over Texas A&M


The most popular storyline in this game is the matchup of the Aggies' high-powered offense against UGA's much-maligned defense. I really like Jerrod Johnson, the quarterback for A&M. He's a big, athletic QB who can actually throw it. But Georgia is getting AJ Green back, who is so good that he makes Joe Cox look decent. The most important stat for me: Texas A&M only has one win this year against a team with a winning record (Texas Tech). That's proof that their non-conference schedule was terrible, and that the Big 12 had no depth this year. Go Dawgs.

UCLA -3.5 over Temple

Okay, I have a confession - I haven't seen a single minute of football played by Temple this entire year. Frankly, I was shocked that they are even in a bowl game. Apparently, the Owls won 9 straight games before losing their season finale against Ohio. It's amazing what leaving a BCS conference (Big East) for a mid-major conference (MAC) can do for your record. Anyways, I have actually watched a couple UCLA games. This isn't because I'm a Pac-10 fan, mind you. It's just that UCLA is often on while I'm out at bars on Saturday night, so instead of trying to pretend I'm single and talk to girls I'm not going to hook up with, I just stare aimlessly at the TV behind the bar showing the Fox Sports broadcast of some random West Coast night game that doesn't end until 2am EST. So yeah, I'm taking the Bruins.

Miami -2.5 over Wisconsin

I really dislike Miami as a program and I think that Randy Shannon is too incompetent to merit a big-time head coaching job, so I'd really like to pick the Badgers here. However, Shannon has definitely assembled some talent down in Coral Gables, and it is starting to pay dividends, despite his shaky coaching. Wisconsin has done a good job of beating "bad" teams this year, but their two best wins are against Michigan State and Purdue. Miami is better than both of those teams, and this game is in Orlando, so the U might actually be able to get 5-10 thousand fans to travel for the game. As a sidenote, anyone who didn't see the 2-hour ESPN 30 for 30 special on "the U" should really check it out. Pretty awesome story. Even though I thought Butch Davis was portrayed in a completely unfair light at the end, there were still a bunch of highlights - including my personal favorite: "the George Jefferson" celebration dance.

Idaho +0.5 over Bowling Green

This is another game where I haven't seen either team all season. Here's what I do know: Idaho's nickname is the Vandals and that's pretty cool. Also, this game is played on the smurf turf in Boise. So I have to assume there will be a homefield advantage effect. The only thing worth a damn to come from Bowling Green is the rap group Nappy Roots, and they haven't had a hit since "Aww Naww". So yeah, I'm taking the Fighting Potatoes.

Arizona -1.5 over Nebraska

Okay, now we're talking. I've actually seen both of these teams play multiple games, which virtually ensures that I'll get this pick wrong. For some reason, the Holiday Bowl always seems to produce entertaining, high-scoring games. However, if you watched Nebraska play Texas (which everyone did), then you might've noticed Nebraska barely cracked 100 yards the whole game. The Huskers also have a 10-3 win over Oklahoma and a 9-7 loss against Iowa State. If you can't see where I'm going with this, my point is that Nebraska's offense struggles to score more than a Chi Psi pledge who mistakenly wandered into a Tri Delt-Beta mixer. I am tired of hearing the media slobber over N'adlkerauemeogongkdu Soo, so I am going with the 'Cats.

In case you were wondering, the probability of going 1 for 15 against the spread is 0.05%. So at least one of these picks HAS to be right......right?

The Butch Davis Era

We're three years into Butch's tenure at UNC. Thoughts?

The Pessimist: The guy who took Miami to national championships has only produced two bowls in three years and lost them both. They were also the Mieneke Car Care bowl each time. He has a losing record in the ACC. He hasn't been able to handle Tom O'Brien's N.C. State teams and hasn't elevated the program anywhere above middle of the pack in the conference.

The Optimist: The last two years under Davis have been more successful than any back-to-back years Bunting ever had. He's getting the team on national TV, he's scheduling marquee non-conference games (LSU), he's improving the stadium and adding some wrinkles to being a fan (navy jerseys, Thursday home games, Tar Pit). He's undefeated against Miami and has shown that he can take the team on the road in tough environments and come out with wins.

Byrum's 3rd round of futility

I would like to start off that going 0-6 against the spread is equally as difficult as going 6-0, so what I've done is actually quite impressive. However, clearly I have no idea what I'm doing, so I'll keep my picks even shorter and sweeter than Gregg's.

Saturday: Little Caesars Bowl - Marshall vs Ohio (-2.5)

I've been to Athens, Ohio. Fun town, hot girls, I'm taking the Cats. Under-rated party school.

Byrum: Ohio

Saturday: Meineke Car Care Bowl - Pittsburgh (-2.5) vs North Carolina

Clearly I can't pick against the Heels for karma reasons, even though there's a lot of reasons to like Pitt here. I'm going to run on optimism like Oltz, but more importantly I'll be there cheering for them in person and I can't bear to see another loss in Charlotte. This game is huge for the Heels because 9-4 sounds so much better than 8-5.

Byrum: Heels (obvi)

Saturday: Emerald Bowl - USC (-9.5) vs Boston College

No doubt this game is a mis-match on paper, but SoCal has under achieved all season and I refuse to be wooed by their 5 stars one more time. Until Southern Cal plays up to its talent level, I refuse to respect them. Also, motivation is huge in this game: BC's gotta be fired up to play such a big-time opponent while So Cal is feeling like this is a huge waste of time.

Byrum: Boston College

Sunday: Music City Bowl - Clemson (-7.5) vs Kentucky

As much as I hate to take the SEC here, I think that extra half-point is huge. Another patented late season swoon has left their fan base bitter. Evidenced by they couldn't sell their entire ticket allotment for a fan base that usually travels well. The stadium will be 3/4 blue, and therefore I like the Cats to keep it within a TD.

Byrum: Kentucky

**Note: Odds are 512:1 against going 0-9 against the spread, so dear Lord please let me get one right.

College Football Bowl Pick-off, Round Three

Gonna have to keep the picks a little shorter and sweeter this week due to the holiday and the fact that my aunt overestimated how much Blue Moon she should by for the family, a problem that needs to be remedied.

Also, Byrum's picks are just terrible. I'm glad he said " I expect a strong bounce back performance with this round of picks," in his last post. Well done, Swami, well done.

Saturday: Little Caesars Bowl - Marshall vs Ohio (-2.5)
Ohio just barely failed to win its conference, Marshall is just trying to avoid a losing season. And Marshall is playing for an interim coach. Can I get an O-H? Found's pick: O-H-I-O

Saturday: Meineke Car Care Bowl - Pittsburgh (-2.5) vs North Carolina
The minute this bowl matchup was announced, I knew it was trouble for the Heels. Did you watch the Cincinnati-Pitt game? Pitt was a few plays away from being in a BCS game right now, instead it gets relegated to Bank of America Stadium. Point it, Pitt is playing in a bowl WAY below its level. Whether they show up remains to be seen. But they're the real deal. They rode Dion Lewis like a horse and I hope they didn't run him into the ground. So who's the pick? Who do you think. Found's pick: Heels

Saturday: Emerald Bowl - USC (-9.5) vs Boston College
I'm gonna make this real simple. Anyone who saw UNC play Boston College knows just how terrible the Eagles are and how they might have an offense that rivals UNC's for ineptness. I'm going to assume that USC actually comes to play in this game. If they do, it gets ugly fast. The points scare me, but not as much as the lopsided matchup. Found's pick: USC

Sunday: Music City Bowl - Clemson (-7.5) vs Kentucky
I mean come on: C.J. Spiller against no one even half as good as him on the other team. This one is a little too easy - ACC represent. Found's pick: Clemson

Bob's Round 3 Picks- Go Heels

Hope everyone out there had a great holiday with friends and family. I know we sure did, of course other than the fact that I'm 2-4 with my picks so far. Of course, at least I'm not Byrum...

Little Caesars Bowl, Dec 26, ESPN, 1 PM, Marshall vs Ohio (-2.5)

And, once again, I have no idea. Seriously? Marshall is 6-6, but they're getting points and I love that movie about the plane crash. Big Bob's pick: We Are. Marshall.

Meineke Car Care Bowl, Dec 26, ESPN, 4:30 PM, Pittsburgh (-2.5) vs North Carolina

Three reasons why I like the Heels in this game: first, the Panthers score points by running the ball, to the tune of 1600 yards by freshman back Dion Lewis. Carolina, on the other hand, has been tough against the run all season against any teams not named Georgia Tech. Second, this is BY FAR the healthiest the Heels have been on the offensive side of the ball all season long. The offensive line is finally intact and has had a full month to practice together. I really think that the Heels' O might come out and surprise some people today with a great performance. Third, Pitt has a winning record, and UNC dominates good teams (5-1 this season against FBS teams with a winning record). Big Bob's pick: Heels.

Emerald Bowl, Dec 26, ESPN, 8 PM, USC (-9.5) vs Boston College

This is something of a great matchup. USC is the ultimate talent machine over in LA, while BC is the ultimate underachiever, a team that has been to 11 straight bowl games despite never sniffing the kind of recruiting rankings enjoyed by the Fighting Pete Carrolls. The game, on the other hand, may not live up to the storyline, but it sure is hard to pick. On the one hand, I could see USC finally getting focused and coming out and just pounding BC, but I could also see the scrappy Eagles running for about 250 yards and making this game ugly and close. In the end, I think the loss of Joe McKnight hurts the Trojans and I think BC has enough to cover. Big Bob's pick: Boston College.

Music City Bowl, Dec 27, ESPN, 8:30 PM, Clemson (-7.5) vs Kentucky

Clemson is a team I think is really better than their record, with a true offensive superstar in CJ Spiller and a capable quarterback in Kyle Parker. Kentucky, on the other hand, is 7-5 but only 3-5 in the SEC, having depended on beating Eastern Kentucky, Louisville, Miami (OH), and LA-Monroe for getting to a bowl game. As much as my gut is telling me to never bet on Clemson, I don't like Kentucky either. Big Bob's pick: Clemson.

Updated records:

Found: 3-3

Oltzy: 2-4

Byrum: 0-6

Round 2 picks - Byrum edition

First of all, I can't believe I got called out for going 0-3 in the first round by a guy who went 1-2. That's like a kid from Iowa making fun of South Dakota. At the end of the day, they both suck - they're just irrelevant homes for a few white people (a lot like this blog, *rimshot*).

In fact, I would like to take a moment to acknowledge my great start to this pick ‘em competition. In case you didn’t know, I went 0-3. And when picking against the spread, going 0-3 is just as unlikely and hard to do as going 3-0. So yeah…I got that going for me. I expect a strong bounce back performance with this round of picks.

OREGON ST. +2.5 over Brigham Young

I’ve been a fan of the Beavers all year (*immature chuckle*). Seriously though, they’ve got some good wins this year over solid Pac-10 opponents and two of their losses are “quality” losses – tight ones to Cincinnati and Oregon. I’m a big fan of miniature running back Jacquizz Rogers, and his brother James is really good too. By contrast, BYU only played two teams all year (TCU and FSU) with as much talent as Oregon State. In both of those games, they got drilled. I think OSU is the better team, and they’re getting points. You always like those situations when making picks.

CAL -2.5 over Utah

Cal has been an extremely inconsistent team this year, making them very difficult to bet on. In some games they have looked great (e.g., back to back quality wins over Stanford and Arizona), but other times they have looked awful (e.g., getting drilled by Washington immediately after those quality wins). I think they’re getting running back Jahvid Best back for this game, which should help their cause. If you didn’t know (cough, East Coast bias, cough), Best was one of the best players in the country early in the year and then he missed the last month or so due to one of the scariest/exciting collisions you’ll ever see in football (google the highlight if you haven’t seen it). I feel bad for calling it “exciting”, but it really was – in the same way that people tune into NASCAR races for the crashes. Anyways, Utah has played exactly three quality teams this year (BYU, TCU, & Utah). They lost all of them. The streak continues against the Golden Bears.

NEVADA -14.5 over Southern Methodist

This game features two incredibly different yet similar offenses. They’re similar because both teams score a lot of points. But they’re completely opposite because Nevada runs for over 300 yards a game while June Jones-coached teams generally like handoffs about as much as they like taking exams. In general I am opposed to taking teams giving up more than two TDs, especially in bowl games. I also hate picking teams nicknamed the Wolfpack. However, I am going to make an exception here because I’ve actually seen two Nevada games this year and they covered for me both times. That’s good enough for me.

College Football Bowl Pick-off, Round Two

Wow, rough first three games if you were a favored team or if your name is Byrum. Hnwoltz.

Question to ponder - what kind of sporting event would you most like to travel to Vegas to attend? NFL game? NBA game? Baseball, bowl game, golf tournament?

I guess there really isn't a wrong answer, either way you're in Vegas and watching live sports. So hats off to Oregon State and BYU for acheiving both.

Tuesday: MAACO Las Vegas Bowl, Oregon State vs BYU (-2.5)
What has BYU done this season? Beat Oklahoma, got pounded at home by Florida State, got pounded at home by TCU and beat Utah at home. I don't like that resume much. I don't like Oregon State's much either, but I do like the fact that they've won 5 straight bowl trips, second-longest streak in the nation. Mike Riley just doesn't lose bowl games (he was also 3-0 as offensive coordinator at USC), and the small spread doesn't scare me away. Found's pick: Oregon State

Wednesday: Poinsettia Bowl, Utah vs California (-2.5)
Both teams finished the season with losses. And if I'm going to pick Oregon State above because of their bowl win streak, I have to pick Utah - the only team with a longer streak (won 8 straight). No Jahvid Best for Cal = no dice. Plus the two murderers in Basic Instinct went to Cal and became psycho there, so I can't rightly pick the Bears and expect the world to be a good place. Found's pick: Utah

Christmas Eve: Hawaii Bowl, Nevada (-14.5) vs SMU
All you need to know is that Nevada will be playing without leading rusher Vai Taua, who is academically ineligible for the game. I fully expect Nevada to still be able to run the ball to death and beat warm-and-fuzzy-story SMU, but not to cover a 14.5 point spread. Found's pick: SMU

Big Bob's Round 2 Picks

A hearty Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Big Bob. To get you in that Christmas mood, here are your picks for the next 3:

MAACO Las Vegas Bowl, December 22nd, 8 PM, ESPN, Oregon State vs BYU (-2.5)

BYU has been to the Las Vegas Bowl something like 5 years in a row, which is an incredible feat of irony. This guy, for one, loves it. Oregon State, on the other hand, was one Civil War victory away from being in the Rose Bowl. It's hard to believe that either of these teams is really too excited to be here. Then again, the only time I watched BYU play this year they got destroyed by Florida State. That's enough for me. Big Bob's pick: Oregon State.

Poinsettia Bowl, Dec 23rd, 8 PM, ESPN, Utah vs California (-2.5)

Can somebody please give me a bowl I know something about? I know Cal was ranked in the top 10 earlier this year, but because of the East Coast bias I'm not sure I ever saw them play. Utah, on the other hand, has built a strong name for themselves through 2 coaches. Not many mid-majors could have survived losing an Urban Meyer, so that in itself is impressive. Still, I think Cal regroups from a tough season and puts some pride on the line here. Big Bob's pick: Cal.

Wow, apparently I hate the Mountain West.

Hawaii Bowl, Dec 24th, 8 PM, ESPN, Nevada (-14.5) vs SMU

Nothing says Christmas Eve than watching the Hawaii Bowl. June Jones gets SMU back to a bowl game for the first time in 20 years, and leads me to think that there's about a 70% chance that with his crazy offense he's going to convince a ridiculous Texas high school QB to come to Dallas and put up 5000 yards of offense and the Mustangs are going to make some serious noise. As for this year, they're probably not going to win this game but there's absolutely no way Nevada can give 14 points to a June Jones offense. Big Bob's pick: SMU.

Current records:

Found: 1-2

Oltzy: 1-2

Byrum: 0-3

UNC-Texas: two days later

Oltz, I too am frustrated about the Heels' performance on Saturday and how they've fared in these marquee non-con games so far.

But consider this: UNC has lost to the #2, #3 and #5 teams this season. They've beaten the #9 and #17 teams. If that makes them the #10 team in the country, then that's right by me.

The price you pay for scheduling a tough non-con slate is that you likely will lose a few of those games (ask Michigan State). But it's worth it. Last year's team is probably 10-1 if they had to play this schedule instead of 8-3 like they are now.

Plus, let's be honest, we want to win the ACC and beat Duke, right?

So, my goals for the rest of the season are:
-Win ACC regular season
-Get some solid road wins that help the young guys
-A 3 or 4 seed in the NCAA tourney
-Elite Eight

Texas 103, UNC 90

Before the season, I was really excited about the opportunity this team would have to play several big-time games. At Kentucky, against Texas in Cowboys Stadium, Ohio State and Syracuse in MSG, Michigan State at home. Those are high-quality and high-buzz games, and it's always fun to watch your team play in that as opposed to taking on Penn or Cleveland State or Gardner Webb.

But right now, it's just frustrating. Because for 85% of the games against Kentucky and Texas, the Heels played at least as well as the 'Cats or 'Horns. But just as Carolina did against Kentucky when John Wall led the Cats to an early 30-11 lead, there was one 5-minute period in this game- the end of the 1st half- where the Heels' youth destroyed all the good things they had done and would do in this game. They struggled to dig in defensively, took bad shots, and didn't rebound the Texas misses with any kind of aggressiveness. And I know it's youth and I know I shouldn't be surprised but it still almost make me break my remote in 2 watching this game.

I don't think it's any one phase of this team that needs to get better. I've actually been pleasantly surprised by the Heels' backcourt play, and 16 turnovers, though Dan Shulman was harping on it for about 70% of the broadcast, isn't actually that terrible given the pace this game was played at and the number of possessions each team had. I don't think that's where this team's Achilles heel lies. I think that this team's major weakness is the ability to maintain focus on both ends of the floor for 40 minutes, for all players involved. There were just too many mental lapses this afternoon and against Kentucky to hope to beat these kinds of teams.

Look at it this way- Texas ended the first half with a 23-7 run over 5:40. For the other 34:20, Carolina won, 83-80. Unbelievable. Roy needs to get this team to understand what it takes to play a basketball game for 40 minutes against a team like Texas. Because clearly the talent level is there- we wouldn't be able to hang with this kind of team for 34 minutes if it wasn't. We're just young and inexperienced a little bit sloppy for periods during each game. Hopefully, playing such a difficult nonconference schedule will allow this young team to learn lessons like this before getting into the more important ACC road games. And I think there is something to be said for that. Games lost in December don't make me very upset if they will lead to more important wins down the road that help build toward the goal of a conference championship.

Rounding out the first...um...round: Byrum's picks

So apparently the way things work around here is that I'm supposed to open my post with some over-arching thoughts on the college bowl season and whether it's too inclusive. Fine, I'll play.

The current bowl system is stupid, because there should have a playoff. But that's another discussion for another day (What? You really think I'm going to fill the summer months breaking down the pennant race in the AL West? Gotta save some material.)

Seriously though, as a fan I don't see how anyone can complain there are "too many" bowls. What are the arguments AGAINST lots of bowls? Too much football on television? Some people say it "lessens the prestige" and making a bowl "doesn't mean what it used to." Those people are retarded.

Look, here's the deal. There are a handful of legit big-time bowl games (BCS games plus a few others. Cotton has good tradition. The Citrus and Peach bowls were cool, but their new names make them less cool. Roughly a dozen bowls make this cut.) Every other bowl game is mediocre or crappy. And so whose prestige is really being lessened here? The Rose Bowl is still the Rose Bowl. Am I supposed to believe that the "prestige" of making the Liberty Bowl is somehow lessened by the fact that there's now a bowl for the Armed Forces or Emerald-brand almonds? Ridiculous.

Anyways, on to my picks. My partners in crime have already done a good job of breaking down the objective information about each game. Clearly, none of us have watched any of these teams play this year, and there's only so much info I can glean from the "Matchup" page on USAToday.com. Therefore, instead of pretending to make my picks based on some objective statistical evidence of superiority I will simply give you the REAL reason my teams will cover.

FRESNO ST. -11.5 over Wyoming
The real reason why: Wyoming's school colors are turd brown and mustard yellow. Ugliest uniforms in college sports. I like my teams to look good (argyle anyone?)

CENTRAL FLORIDA +2.5 over Rutgers
The real reason why: Tony Soprano died at the end of the last episode. He definitely did. The proof? James Gandolfini was Rutgers' most famous alumnus, and ever since The Sopranos went off the air this program has been in a slow decline from their brief stint of prominence. Clearly, Tony's crew is no longer making threats to the coaches of Rutgers opponents.

SOUTHERN MISS -3.5 over MTSU
The real reason why: I'm gonna stick with the famous alumni card here. Brett Fav-ruh was a Golden Eagle. And who wants to pick against Brett this year? Even Wrangler jeans are flying off the racks. Which reminds me - I want next year's ads to feature Mr. Fav-ruh slinging the ball around a muddy field to the Adrian Peterson and Percy Harvin. All of them must be wearing tight Wranglers, although Percy went to Florida so he can cut his down into jorts...

Big Bob's College Bowl Picks: Opening Round

I'll have to echo That's G about the bowl season. I don't really care that there are so many bowls or too many , because that's not really the point. The point of bowl season is to give us one last, glorious month of college football to help us feel better about drinking so much egg nog and eating so many sugar cookies. It's a high that will allow us to make it through the long summer as we wait for Labor Day and another kickoff.

Also, it's hard to overlook that bowl season usually gives us some truly interesting and somewhat random matchups that we don't get to see during the regular season. Examples this year: Arizona-Nebraska (no tradition-all tradition), BC-USC (could these schools be any farther apart?), Virginia Tech-Tennessee, Penn State-LSU. Those are 4 great matchups.

Interestingly enough, none of these 3 games qualifies under the "most interesting" category. But that's okay, it's snowing in the Dash and I'm ready to watch some football.

New Mexico Bowl, Dec 19th, 4 PM, ESPN- Fresno State (-11.5) vs. Wyoming

I know NOTHING about either of these teams, other than that Fresno State once almost beat USC like 4 years ago. I respect the fact that Pat Hill, the Fresno State coach, was once quoted as saying that he would play anyone anywhere anytime. I love that. Not sure if he meant that he would play the Fighting Cowboys in Albuquerque, but that's what he got. Big Bob's pick: Fresno State.

St Petersburg Bowl, Dec 19th, 8 PM, ESPN- Rutgers (-2.5) vs UCF

People have falled off the Rutgers bandwagon a little bit recently, but let's be honest- just because the Scarlet Knights were in the national title discussion during one season doesn't mean that kind of level is sustainable for them. It's still amazing the job that Greg Schiano has done taking a team with no tradition that plays its home games in Piscataway, New Jersey and turning them into a consistent bowl team. UCF, on the other hand, is coached by George O'Leary, also known as a total clown. Big Bob's pick: Rutgers.

New Orleans Bowl, Dec 20th, 8:30 PM, ESPN- Southern Miss (-3.5) vs Middle Tenn St

Again, another game that I have absolutely no idea about. Southern Miss interestingly beat UVa this year, which is something that my 8-4 Tar Heels could not manage. Whoops. They were also a pedestrian 5-3 in a solid Conference USA. Middle Tennessee State won 9 games already, including 7-1 in the Sun Belt. Pretty impressive, certainly, but can you really imagine yourself looking at a 10-win Blue Raiders team? I cannot. I hate to go all favorites here, but I'm about to do so. Vegas is looking down and loving me right now. Big Bob's pick: Southern Miss.

College Football Bowl Pick-off, Opening Round

Look, first let me state I have no problem that there are so many bowls and so many teams going to bowl games. Yes, all these bowls are terrible, but they're meant to be terrible. They don't pretend NOT to be. We still get to watch college football.

Second, I have no problem with a 7-5 team going to a bowl (or even a 7-6 team). A 6-6 team, I do have a problem with - you don't finish .500 and expect to get rewarded. But what the hell, if you're a winning team that has spent the last 3 months toiling in practice, you deserve a little winter vacation with whatever swag might come along with it.

Not that these three bowls we're about to pick will provide shining examples of "vacation" or "swag" but hey, bowl season is here.


Saturday - New Mexico Bowl: Fresno State by 11 ½ vs Wyoming
Fresno State is the 3rd best team in the WAC behind Boise State and Nevada. No shame in that. They've played honourabley in their two games vs ranked teams and in their game against a major conference team (OT loss at Wisconsin). Wyoming, on the other hand, has nothing that makes me think they can cover, much less win. Found's pick: Fresno State

Saturday - St. Petersburg Bowl: Rutgers by 2 ½ vs Central Florida
The fact that Rutgers went 4-1 on the road this season, including wins against UConn and Maryland, tells me not to worry that this is a home game for UCF. If Rutgers doesn't inexplicably lose at home to Syracuse, they're 9-3 and kind of dangerous. Interesting how some are hyping this game as a "Big East audition" for UCF, who make a good impression if conferences realign within the next few years. Sounds like a defensive game but one that the visitors (with plenty of Floridians on their rosters) can win. Found's pick: Rutgers

Sunday - New Orleans Bowl: Southern Miss by 3 ½ vs Middle Tenn. State
All you need to know is that Middle Tenn. State had 9 wins yet not a single one of them was against a team that finished greater than .500. Southern Miss beat Virginia and doesn't have to go far for this game in New Orleans. In a high-scoring game like this figures to be, who cares about the spread. Found's pick: Southern Miss