Okay, tomorrow is New Year's Day, so there are finally going to be some bowls worth predicting. Now, the Meineke Car Care Bowl is darned compelling, but it's tough to get excited about a bowl where the winning team is presented with the tailpipe from a 1983 Cadillac Cimarron, although it is a very tasteful presentation, I've heard. Generally it's easier to pick games when you've actually heard of the schools competing in the game, too. When I think of a matchup between Louisiana Tech and Northern Illinois (the combatants in this year's Independence Bowl), I'm not thinking bowl game -- I'm thinking a game that is shown on tape delay at 2 a.m. on Versus, but only if the infomercial falls through.
Anyway, on to the real bowls!
Outback Bowl: Iowa Hawkeyes 31, South Carolina Gamecocks 27. This is the only game that I think the Big Ten will win in this cycle. The Hawks have been getting better as the season has progressed and I'm guessing that Gamecock Coach Steve Spurrier will momentarily lose focus when he inadvertently hears the sounds of drunken rutting Iowa fans over his headphones.
Gator Bowl: Clemson Tigers 24, Nebraska Cornhuskers 20. Nebraska has fallen a lot from their glory years but they're getting better. Clemson hasn't really been entertaining in a bowl game since Woody Hayes punched one of their linebackers in the late 1970s, but they should have enough talent to win this one.
Capital One Bowl: Georgia Bulldogs 34, Michigan State Spartans 21. Georgia has had a disappointing season, but they'll be plenty good enough to beat Sparty, which was really a mirage all season long. Javon Ringer is a nice running back, but Georgia's unfortunately-named Knowshon Moreno is better.
Rose Bowl: Southern Cal Trojans 34, Penn State Paternos 24. Penn State will make a good accounting of itself in the game, but Southern Cal is really, really good. And they're really, really mad about blowing the game to Oregon State, otherwise they'd be playing for the BCS championship.
Orange Bowl: Cincinnati Bearcats 27, Virginia Tech Hokies 23. VaTech is a legit program, but you have to wonder what the heck Cincinnati is doing in a BCS game. Still, I'm thinking that Cincy is the better team. Still, while the Big East may be hell of a basketball league, it should not be part of the BCS.
Cotton Bowl: Texas Tech Red Raiders 42, Ole Miss Rebels 27. Texas Tech is the school that lost out on the round-robin for BCS spots out of the Big 12 South. I suspect that both their quarterback (Graham Harrell) and their top receiver (Michael Crabtree) will both have long careers in the NFL. Ole Miss beat Florida, so they are no slouch. But take the Red Raiders.
Sugar Bowl: Alabama Crimson Tide 31, Utah Utes 17. I've been reading a biography of Bear Bryant recently, so all I have to say is, Roll Tide!
Siesta Bowl: Texas Longhorns 51, The Ohio State University 14. Texas is still very angry that they were left on the outs for the BCS championship game. Ohio State has some nice players, but they'll have burnt orange skid marks on their uniforms after this one is over.
BCS Championship Game: Florida Gators 45, Oklahoma Sooners 38. I'm not sure these are the two best teams -- you could make a very good argument for Texas and USC instead -- but this game should be a lot of fun. I think Florida's overall team speed on defense will be good enough to stop Sam Bradford's offense when it really matters.
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