Alright I'm going to make my official college bowl picks for the year. I have to admit, I don't care much for most of them. So, here we go...
Eaglebank Bowl- Wake Forest over Navy
New Mexico Bowl- Colorado St. over Fresno St.
St. Petersburg Bowl- South Florida over Memphis
Las Vegas Bowl- BYU over Arizona
New Orleans Bowl- Troy over Southern Miss
Poinsettia Bowl- TCU over Boise St.- This one is actually worth watching
Hawaii Bowl- Hawaii over Notre Dame
Motor City Bowl- Central Michigan over Florida Atlantic
Car Care Bowl- North Carolina over West Virginia
Champs Sports Bowl- Florida St. over Wisconsin
Emerald Bowl- Cal over Miami
Independence Bowl- Louisiana Tech over Northern Illinois
Papajohns.com Bowl- NC St. over Rutgers
Alamo Bowl- Missouri over Northwestern
Humanitarian Bowl- Maryland over Nevada
Holiday Bowl- Oklahoma St. over Oregon
Texas Bowl- Rice over Western Michigan
Armed Forces Bowl- Houston over Air Force
Sun Bowl- Oregon St. over Pittsburgh
Music City Bowl- Boston College over Vanderbilt
Insight Bowl- Kansas over Minnesota
Chick Fila Bowl- Georgia Tech over LSU
Outback Bowl- South Carolina over Iowa
Capital One Bowl- Georgia over Michigan St.
Gator Bowl- Clemson over Nebraska
Cotton Bowl- Texas Tech over Ole Miss
Liberty Bowl- Kentucky over East Carolina
International Bowl- UConn over Buffalo
GMAC Bowl- Tulsa over Ball St.
Orange Bowl- V Tech over Cincinnati
Rose Bowl- USC over Penn St.
Fiesta Bowl- Texas over Ohio St.
Sugar Bowl- Alabama over Utah
BCS Championship- Florida over Oklahoma- this is the only game that matters folks
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Sunday, December 14, 2008
My official pre-playoff Super Bowl prediction
I think the AFC has 4 contenders, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Indianapolis and New England (never count them out until they lose!). The NFC has two contenders, New York and Carolina (Dallas has too much clubhouse drama).
One common theme I've seen this year has been the teams that run the ball well, have road-grader style O lines and stout defenses have been the most successful. The Titans, Giants, Steelers and Panthers all fit that mold. I'm predicting a Panthers/Giants NFC Championship and Titans/Steelers AFC Championship.
Carolina- Stout, physical defense, two-headed running back duo with Jonathan Stewart/DeAngelo Williams, and a qb/wr combo in Delhomme/Smith that find ways to get it done.
New York- Fundamental, well-coached team that doesn't make many mistakes. Good defense, great O line. They use 3 running backs- Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward and Ahmad Bradshaw. Eli Manning has really come into his own. I've heard alot about how not having Plaxico is going to affect them. I agree that they could not have won last year without Burress. I don't think that is the case this year. David Tyree and Steve Smith have stepped up and they still have Amani Toomer and Kevin Boss has come into his own as a Tight End...and the running game is better this year than it was last year. Plus, they don't have to play New England this year. They don't need Plaxico to get to the Super Bowl...bottom line.
Pittsburgh- Tough, physical and speedy defense with great pass rush. Great running game. Roethlisberger is one of the better qb's in the game and doesn't have to put up gawdy numbers for the Steelers to win. He has good weapons in Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes and Heath Miller.
Tennessee- Best defense in the league this year. Hands down, the best D line with a physical secondary. Great O line with a two headed running back monster of LenDale White and the incredibly fast Chris Johnson. Passing game is a little dicey.
Steelers beat the Titans due to better qb play. The Giants beat the Panthers because the game will be in the Meadowlands.
My Super Bowl pick: Steelers/Giants
One common theme I've seen this year has been the teams that run the ball well, have road-grader style O lines and stout defenses have been the most successful. The Titans, Giants, Steelers and Panthers all fit that mold. I'm predicting a Panthers/Giants NFC Championship and Titans/Steelers AFC Championship.
Carolina- Stout, physical defense, two-headed running back duo with Jonathan Stewart/DeAngelo Williams, and a qb/wr combo in Delhomme/Smith that find ways to get it done.
New York- Fundamental, well-coached team that doesn't make many mistakes. Good defense, great O line. They use 3 running backs- Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward and Ahmad Bradshaw. Eli Manning has really come into his own. I've heard alot about how not having Plaxico is going to affect them. I agree that they could not have won last year without Burress. I don't think that is the case this year. David Tyree and Steve Smith have stepped up and they still have Amani Toomer and Kevin Boss has come into his own as a Tight End...and the running game is better this year than it was last year. Plus, they don't have to play New England this year. They don't need Plaxico to get to the Super Bowl...bottom line.
Pittsburgh- Tough, physical and speedy defense with great pass rush. Great running game. Roethlisberger is one of the better qb's in the game and doesn't have to put up gawdy numbers for the Steelers to win. He has good weapons in Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes and Heath Miller.
Tennessee- Best defense in the league this year. Hands down, the best D line with a physical secondary. Great O line with a two headed running back monster of LenDale White and the incredibly fast Chris Johnson. Passing game is a little dicey.
Steelers beat the Titans due to better qb play. The Giants beat the Panthers because the game will be in the Meadowlands.
My Super Bowl pick: Steelers/Giants
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Initial reaction to BCS announcements
- Orange Bowl- and I'm talking about the one that has Cincinnati vs. V Tech. Is anyone even gonna watch that game? I don't plan to.
- Rose Bowl- USC/Penn St. USC has an immediate home field advantage. I'm not sure if Penn St. even travels well. USC has the talent on paper but they can't overlook JoePa. Penn St. plays sound, mistake free, fundamental and boring football. If the Trojans show up and play their A game though, it won't be close.
- Fiesta Bowl- Texas/Ohio St. Texas is the more talented team. They play the best defense of anybody in the Big 12 (not exactly saying much). Buckeyes defense will have to be big and force a low scoring game for them to have a chance. If Texas shuts down Beanie Wells and forces Terrelle Pryor to beat them with his arm, Buckeyes could be in trouble.
- Sugar Bowl- Alabama/Utah. Automatic home field advantage for Bama. Not only do they travel well and don't have far to go, Utah does not travel well. I expect to see about 100 Utah fans in attendance tops. I see a similar result to the Georgia/Hawaii Sugar Bowl last year. Bama is going to beat this team up physically and on the score board...and they're faster.
- BCS Championship- Oklahoma/Florida. Oklahoma's defense has not seen an offense with this much speed. Florida is the fastest team in the country and they're hungry. Oklahoma's offense has not seen this good of a defense all year either. The Big 12 has decided that defense is a liability. On the other hand, Florida has seen defenses just as good and much better than what Oklahoma has. Florida's defense has not seen this high powered of an offense...the closest being Alabama and Georgia. My initial thoughts are Florida by about 10-15.
- Rose Bowl- USC/Penn St. USC has an immediate home field advantage. I'm not sure if Penn St. even travels well. USC has the talent on paper but they can't overlook JoePa. Penn St. plays sound, mistake free, fundamental and boring football. If the Trojans show up and play their A game though, it won't be close.
- Fiesta Bowl- Texas/Ohio St. Texas is the more talented team. They play the best defense of anybody in the Big 12 (not exactly saying much). Buckeyes defense will have to be big and force a low scoring game for them to have a chance. If Texas shuts down Beanie Wells and forces Terrelle Pryor to beat them with his arm, Buckeyes could be in trouble.
- Sugar Bowl- Alabama/Utah. Automatic home field advantage for Bama. Not only do they travel well and don't have far to go, Utah does not travel well. I expect to see about 100 Utah fans in attendance tops. I see a similar result to the Georgia/Hawaii Sugar Bowl last year. Bama is going to beat this team up physically and on the score board...and they're faster.
- BCS Championship- Oklahoma/Florida. Oklahoma's defense has not seen an offense with this much speed. Florida is the fastest team in the country and they're hungry. Oklahoma's offense has not seen this good of a defense all year either. The Big 12 has decided that defense is a liability. On the other hand, Florida has seen defenses just as good and much better than what Oklahoma has. Florida's defense has not seen this high powered of an offense...the closest being Alabama and Georgia. My initial thoughts are Florida by about 10-15.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Thoughts on the College scenario
Well, we are all doing what the BCS folks want us to do, talking about the jacked up BCS! Seriously! That is one of their arguments in favor of the current system! It's so screwed up we are all talking about it, so it must be good! There is not a single coherent, well thought out argument that can be made in favor of the current system in college football. I once heard Lee Corso argue in favor of the BCS by basically stating that the men in control want it this way, so we are going to have to deal with it! Great! It's settled! Now with that being said...
- I can't argue with Oklahoma potentially being in the championship game. They are a great team, I cannot see Mizzou beating them this week and I do think a team from that Big 12 South deserves to be there. Do I think Texas Tech and Texas deserve it just as much? Absolutely. How do you figure out a three way tie?
- The real national championship is this weekend in Atlanta between Alabama and Florida. I think Florida wins, and Bama gets the Sugar Bowl. I feel sorry for the other team that gets invited to the Sugar Bowl! I could also see Bama beating Florida...don't be surprised.
- Virginia Tech beats Boston College in the most meaningless conference championship. No team from the Big East or ACC deserve to be in a BCS bowl. I hope they just pit V Tech/BC and Cincinnati against each other in the Orange Bowl.
- USC blows boring Penn St. out of the water in the Rose Bowl.
- I see Ohio St. getting an at-large bid, either the Fiesta Bowl against Utah or the Sugar Bowl against Florida/Alabama.
- I can't argue with Oklahoma potentially being in the championship game. They are a great team, I cannot see Mizzou beating them this week and I do think a team from that Big 12 South deserves to be there. Do I think Texas Tech and Texas deserve it just as much? Absolutely. How do you figure out a three way tie?
- The real national championship is this weekend in Atlanta between Alabama and Florida. I think Florida wins, and Bama gets the Sugar Bowl. I feel sorry for the other team that gets invited to the Sugar Bowl! I could also see Bama beating Florida...don't be surprised.
- Virginia Tech beats Boston College in the most meaningless conference championship. No team from the Big East or ACC deserve to be in a BCS bowl. I hope they just pit V Tech/BC and Cincinnati against each other in the Orange Bowl.
- USC blows boring Penn St. out of the water in the Rose Bowl.
- I see Ohio St. getting an at-large bid, either the Fiesta Bowl against Utah or the Sugar Bowl against Florida/Alabama.
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