Gildan New Mexico Bowl - Saturday 12/15/12 1PM on ESPN
University Stadium (Albuquerque, NM)
Nevada Wolfpack (7-5) vs Arizona Wildcats (7-5)
Nevada might have a chance at winning this game if Colin Kaepernick was still operating Chris Ault's pistol offense, but that isn't the case. The Wildcats will be suiting up the nation's leading rusher and Doak Walker finalist Kadeem Carey. That should be enough for an Arizona victory. However, as long as Rich Rodriguez is coaching this team, I hope they lose every game.
Bear Down 45, Wolfpack 13
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| This will never get old |
Bronco Stadium (Boise, ID)
#22 Utah State Aggies (10-2) vs Toledo Rockets (9-3)
Utah State quietly had a really good season (they came very close to knocking off Wisconsin earlier this year) and deserved to be ranked. Still, Toledo won nine games including six in the much better than advertised Mid-American Conference. Utah State can sputter on offense against good teams, and Toledo can score on anyone. The Rockets will get their 10th win and will end the season as one of three ranked teams in the MAC.
Rockets 42, USU 31
San Diego Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl - Thursday 12/20/12 8PM on ESPN
Qualcomm Stadium (San Diego, CA)
BYU Cougars (7-5) vs San Diego State Aztecs (9-3)
BYU has been a minor disappointment this year after registering ten wins last year, but the Aztecs are a manageable opponent for Bronco Mendenhall's Cougars. In the end, I expect San Diego's home field advantage to carry them in a close victory.
Aztecs 27, The Honor Code 24
Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl St. Petersburg - Friday 12/21/12 7:30PM on ESPN
Tropicana Field (St. Petersburg, FL)
Central Florida Golden Knights (9-4) vs Ball State Cardinals (9-3)
The MAC has a chance to have four teams finish with double-digit wins this year. Ball State will be the team that doesn't meet their end of the bargain. UCF is preparing for a move to the Big East and they have accumulated a wealth of talent in preparation for the move. Recent sanctions may have derailed some of their momentum but UCF is too far developed as a program to drop a bowl game to Ball State in Florida.
UCF 45, Ball 17
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| Pirate's Booty: Because booty is more important than water |
Mercedes-Benz Superdome (New Orleans, LA)
Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns (8-4) vs East Carolina Pirates (8-4)
The Sun Belt is rapidly improving as a conference every season. Successful Sun Belt programs are starting to make a living off of recruiting fringe level SEC players with promises of immediate playing time. Transfers are also making a major impact, as is the case at ULL with quarterback Terrence Broadway. A top prospect out of high school, Broadway made his way to the Bayou primarily as part of the aftershock that occurred when Kevin Sumlin bolted Houston. Now the Cajuns are playing a bowl game in their own backyard and the best player on the field is suiting up for their team. Things are definitely changing in the Belt.
Ragin' Swamp People 31, Pirate's Booty 24
Maaco Las Vegas Bowl - Saturday 12/22/12 3:30PM on ESPN
Sam Boyd Stadium (Las Vegas, NV)
#19 Boise State Broncos (10-2) vs Washington Huskies (7-5)
Boise State may have a record that is on par with what we remember from the Kellen Moore era, but don't be fooled. This is a down year for Boise State, and they will prove it by dropping this game. Washington QB Keith Price will look good enough in this bowl game to start next year as a dark horse Heisman candidate for the second consecutive year.
Huskies 48, Blue Man Group 35
Sheraton Hawaii Bowl - Saturday 12/24/12 8PM on ESPN
Aloha Stadium (Honolulu, HI)
Southern Methodist Mustangs (6-6) vs Fresno State Bulldogs (9-3)
SMU took a step back this year on their road towards respectability. They would have liked a better season going into the Big East next year, but they will have to settle for being throttled in a bowl game by this very underrated Fresno team.
That Random Green V 35, Not Quite Pony Excess 13
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| WKU fans: What...the hell...is this? |
Ford Field (Detroit, MI)
Central Michigan Chippewas (6-6) vs Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (7-5)
The MAC is a very top heavy conference, but the Sun Belt is building a more complete collection of programs down south. This bowl season will show that the middle and bottom of the Sun Belt are much stronger than the middling teams in the Midwest. A topping of CMU by the Hilltoppers will be another piece of evidence in favor of the rise of the Sun Belt.
Big Red Gumdrops 21, Maroon Chips 17
Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman - Tuesday 12/27/12 3PM on ESPN
RFK Memorial Stadium (Washington D.C.)
#24 San Jose State Spartans (10-2) vs Bowling Green Falcons (8-4)
San Jose State has completed an epic turnaround from being one of the worst programs in college football a few years ago to being ranked in the BCS Top 25. Of course when that happens, your coach leaves for a crappy power conference job where he has no chance to succeed and will probably be fired before he can even be realistically expected to compete. Okay, maybe that doesn't always happen, but it did happen to the Spartans. Mike MacIntyre has already bolted for Colorado (after their treatment of previous coach Jon Embree, the Buffs are lucky anyone wanted their awful coaching gig), but San Jose State has way too much talent to drop this game against BG. Honestly, 100% of their focus won't be required. After this year's big three in the MAC (NIU, Kent State, and Toledo), the rest of the conference struggles to stack up to other Non-AQ competition. By the way, if you're wondering how good San Jose State is, they held Stanford to 20 points and only loss by three at the Farm earlier this season.
Ain't No Sparty Like A West Coast Sparty 52, Random School My Ex Went To 31
Belk Bowl - Tuesday 12/27/12 6:30PM on ESPN
Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte, NC)
Cincinnati Bearcats (9-3) vs Duke Blue Devils (6-6)
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| Connor Vernon |
I Can't Believe Duke is in A Bowl Game 34, Bearcats Are Actually Kind of Cute 31
Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl - Tuesday 12/27/12 9:45PM on ESPN
Qualcomm Stadium (San Diego, CA)
#17 UCLA Bruins (9-4) vs Baylor Bears (7-5)
The Holiday Bowl has traditionally been one of the best bowl games in terms of great players, high powered offenses, and great finishes. This year will be no different. This game features a Doak Walker finalist (UCLA's Jonathan Franklin) and a Biletnikoff Finalist (Baylor's Terrance Williams), leading two offenses who can really light it up. Baylor showed what it can do at full potential when they thrashed then #1 Kansas State, they can carve out a very impressive 8-win campaign with a win in this game. UCLA could announce they're arrival as a consistent Pac-12 contender with a 10-win season.
Powder Blues 49, Sic 'Em Bears 45
AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl - Wednesday 12/28/12 2PM on ESPN
Independence Bowl (Shreveport, LA)
Ohio Bobcats (8-4) vs Louisiana Monroe Warhawks (8-4)
The Ohio Bobcats opened up the season with a win against an emotional Penn State team that turned out to be very good. Monroe's huge early season win against Arkansas turned QB Kolton Browning into a media darling for a week or two, but the Hogs turned out to be really bad team under John L. Smith (who is a lunatic, keep in mind). I've been hard on the MAC outside of their best three teams, but I think Ohio has what it takes to get the job done down south. Records may point to Ball State and Bowling Green, but Ohio is really the fourth best team in the MAC.
Bob 30, War 14
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| I'd run through a wall wearing one of these |
Citrus Bowl (Orlando Florida)
Rutgers Scarlet Knights (9-3) vs Virginia Tech Hokies (6-6)
The Scarlet Knights were one win away from playing in the BCS and reaping all of the financial benefits that went along with it. Instead, they're now rummaging through an undoubtedly unimpressive gift basket from the fine people at Russell Athletic. There's no way they can be excited about this game. Combine that with their matchup with against a more talented Virginia Tech team who is probably determined to avoid giving Frank Beamer his first losing season in ions, and Rutgers doesn't have a chance in this game.
FYI: Hokies Are Turkeys 34, Those Helmets Are So Cool 14
Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas - Wednesday 12/28/12 9PM on ESPN
Reliant Stadium (Houston, TX)
Minnesota Golden Gophers (6-6) vs Texas Tech Red Raiders (7-5)
The name of this bowl sucks. Minnesota sucks. Texas Tech is good...especially on defense (and especially when they are playing bad teams). Side note, the way Tommy Tuberville left Tech is disgusting. The rumor circulating is that he was at dinner with a few recruits on a visit to Texas Tech, and he left the dinner mid meal to take the job at Cincy. I don't understand how the NCAA can penalize kids for transferring with a straight face after hearing a story like that. Tech already has a much classier guy in former Texas A&M OC (and former Tech QB) Kliff Kingsbury.
Not Those Raiders...the Red Ones 52, Seriously...They Suck 17
Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl - Thursday 12/29/12 11:45AM on ESPN
Amon G. Carter Stadium (Fort Worth, TX)
Air Force Academy Falcons (6-6) vs Rice Owls (6-6)
Rice has to play Air Force in a bowl game dedicated to honoring members of the armed forces, and the game is sponsored by Bell Helicopter...Rice Doesn't have a chance do they?
AFA 28, Hooters 14
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| Who wouldn't want to play in this bowl game! |
Yankees Stadium (Bronx, NY)
Syracuse Orange (7-5) vs West Virginia Mountaineers (7-5)
Bowl games are often decided not by who has the best team, but by the team that is most excited to be there. Syracuse loves playing in this NYC based bowl game (this is their second appearance in the bowl's three-year existence). New York City is a vital market to the Orange and they take their unofficial title of being NYC's home team in college football very seriously. Playing at Yankees Stadium is a pseudo home game to them, and they play extra hard to protect their home turf in NYC. West Virginia comes into this game reeling. The Mounties were thinking national championship at one point this season, but their porous defense started a trend of losing that they just recently bucked with a pair of wins over Big 12 bottom-feeders (Iowa State and Kansas). Syracuse has a balanced and dynamic offensive attack, and I don't think the 'Neers can get off the field enough to win.
Juice 59, Mounties 56
Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl - Thursday 12/29/12 4PM on ESPN2
AT&T Park (San Francisco, CA)
Navy Midshipmen (7-4) vs Arizona State Sun Devils (7-5)
The Naval Academy is coming off of an emotional win against Army, and Arizona State doesn't have too much going there way in the momentum department, but I expect the Sun Devils size and speed to be a bit overwhelming for the Middies.
Sparky 38, Annapolis 21
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| The Original Angry Beavers |
Alamodome (San Antonio, TX)
#13 Oregon State Beavers (9-3) vs #22 Texas Longhorns (8-4)
It took us 17 games to get to this magical point in time, but we have finally arrived at the first pairing of two ranked teams in a bowl game. The Alamo Bowl is usually a pretty good football game, and I expect as much from the 2012 edition. The Beavers have over achieved all year, racing out to nine wins out of nowhere. This year's Texas team was short on the talent that is typically on the field in Austin, but these Longhorns worked their butts off to squeeze eight wins out of this year's schedule. I can't wait to watch this game because it will be two hard hitting teams that will leave it all on the field. When the clock hits triple zeroes, the aftermath at the Alamodome may look like the aftermath at the actual Alamo.
Hook 'Em 27, Angry Beavers 21
Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl - Thursday 12/29/12 10:15PM on ESPN
Sun Devil Stadium (Tempe, AZ)
TCU Horned Frogs (7-5) vs Michigan State Spartans (6-6)
Both of these programs entered the year poised to have breakout years. TCU was supposed to prove they belonged with the big boys during their first season as a member of the Big 12, and Michigan State was supposed to compete for the Big Ten title after falling just short of the Rose Bowl a year ago. Instead, TCU was derailed by their starting QB's off the field issues, and the Spartans struggled to find effectiveness from any skill position players not named Le'Veon Bell. However, the Spartans seem to have more figured out at this point. There offense has shown much more life now that young receivers Keith Mumphery and Aaron Burbridge have a more prominent role.
Sparty Hard 23, Horny Toads 17
Well this will hold you over until New Year's Eve. Enjoy the bowl games and be on the lookout for the rest of the bowls being blurbed about soon!
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