Bowl Preview & Picks, pt.2

Austin Davis of Southern Miss

7. Sheraton Hawaii Bowl
Nevada (7-5, 5-2 WAC) vs. Southern Miss (11-2, 6-2 C-USA)
This will mark the final time Southern Miss will be led by Larry Fedora as he is moving on to North Carolina.  The Golden Eagle offense led by Austin Davis will go up against the #2 defense in the WAC.  Advantage goes to the defense facing a team dealing with the disappointment of losing their coach and not receiving a Liberty Bowl invite.  Nevada Wolfpack wins 34-17.

8. AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl
Missouri (7-5, 5-4 Big 12) vs. North Carolina (7-5, 3-5 ACC)
Missouri visits SEC country for their last bowl game as a member of the Big 12 Conference.  Neither of these teams is especially exciting, but I'll go with the team that has the more stable situation.  Mizzou wins 24-10.

9. Little Caesar's Bowl
Western Michigan (7-5, 5-3 MAC) vs. Purdue (6-6, 4-4 Big Ten)
The Boilermakers completely turned their season around to make it to a bowl game.  The Broncos have one of the most exciting offenses in the country but they have struggled against Big 10 teams in the past, losing six straight including at Michigan and Illinois this season.  I'll go with the Big 10 team.  Purdue wins 41-28.

Louisville's Teddy Bridgewater

10. Belk Bowl
Louisville (7-5, 5-2 Big East) vs. NC State (7-5, 4-4 ACC)
The Cardinals are a young team that has overcome a 2-4 start to make the Belk Bowl to face the Wolfpack of NC State.  Charlie Strong's bunch seem to be getting better and better each week and I'd look for quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to have a big game.  Cardinals win 31-20.

11. Military Bowl
Toledo (8-4, 7-1 MAC) vs. Air Force (7-5, 3-4 MWC)
Over the past month nobody has been scoring more than the Toledo Rockets and they've been doing it both rushing and passing.  The Falcons have been putting up points recently but it's because of their option attack which averages 320 yards per game.  The Rockets lost their head coach to Illinois but promoted offensive coordinator Matt Campbell to head coach.  Falcons won't be able to stop the Rockets.  Toledo wins 48-24.

12. Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl
California (7-5, 4-5 Pac-12) vs. Texas (7-5, 4-5 Big 12)

The Bears offense has really come on strong lately and Texas has really shown no reason for someone to believe in them.  That being said the Longhorns have won seven of their last nine postseason games and I'm going to take them again.  Texas wins 24-20.

Bowl Preview & Picks, pt. 1

Bowl Preview & Picks, pt.1

Temple's Bernard Pierce

1. Gildan New Mexico Bowl

Temple (8-4, 5-3 MAC) vs. Wyoming (8-4, 5-2 MWC)
Owls' ground game and defense are too much for the Cowboys.  Temple's Bernard Pierce comes into the matchup with 25 rushing touchdowns and will likely be the difference in the game.  Temple wins 21-17.

2. Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Ohio (9-4, 6-2 MAC) vs. Utah State (7-5, 5-2 WAC)
Frank Solich and the Bobcats are coming off a tough loss in the MAC Championship game and will want to end the season on a high note, with the program's first bowl victory.  Ohio wins 31-24.

3. R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
San Diego St. (8-4, 4-3 MWC) vs. UL-Lafayette (8-4, 6-2 Sun Belt)
The Ragin' Cajuns travel a couple of hours down I-10 to take on the Aztecs.  The Cajuns and their fans are extremely excited to be in a bowl for the first time as a FBS member.  That excitement and  fan support as well as an opportunistic defense that forces turnovers will lead the Cajuns to a big win.  Cajuns win 35-31.

FIU's T.Y. Hilton

4. Beef O'Brady's Bowl St. Petersburg
Florida International (8-4, 5-3 Sun Belt) vs. Marshall (6-6, 5-3 C-USA)
T.Y. Hilton is the real deal at receiver for FIU and he wants to go out with a bowl victory. Marshall needed a near miracle to even become bowl eligible.  Golden Panthers win 34-20.

5. San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
TCU (10-2, 7-0 MWC) vs. Louisiana Tech (8-4, 6-1 WAC)
Both teams were likely disappointed when TCU was not taken in the BCS.  The Bulldogs best season in quite a while gets them a date with a TCU team that last year was winning the Rose Bowl.  TCU has a nasty defense and quarterback Casey Pachall continues to improve.  Horned Frogs win big, 38-17.

6. MAACO Bowl Las Vegas
Arizona State (6-6, 4-5 Pac-12) vs. Boise State (11-1, 6-1 MWC)
Kellen Moore enters his final game as Bronco's quarterback as the winningest quarterback in NCAA history.  ASU fired Dennis Erickson and has now brought in the now almost universally-loathed Todd Graham.  It seems as though the Sun Devils have absolutely no positive momentum.  I'll take the program who regularly exceeds expectations over one who never lives up to them.  Boise State wins 38-24

Weis to coach Kansas

   It appears that once you go fat you must go back.  Kansas has hired Charlie Weis to try to rebuild the program built by fellow heavyweight Mark Mangino after an unsuccessful stint by Turner Gill.

     
Weis leaves behind the Florida Gators where as the offensive coordinator his offense ranked 102 in the nation. Quite an accomplishment to land a head coaching job after leading an offense that ranked below Eastern Michigan, Western Kentucky, Tulane and Buffalo.

Now that Weis has brought his FUPA to the Big "12" can he turn the KU program around and make them a contender?  Doubtful.  Weis likely will not be able to land the recruits needed to compete with the schools to the south.  Kansas isn't exactly a recruiting hotbed and I can only imagine how off-putting it must be to watch Weis give a recruiting pitch to someone as he BBQ sauce dribbles down his chins while he eats some Kansas City style ribs.

As a LSU fan I'm disappointed I won't get to watch this fatass roam the sidelines of Tiger Stadium every other year as a coach at Florida.  If only he was wearing purple, he'd look just like the Grimace.

Big East gets bigger; who cares

   The Big East Conference announced Wednesday to add Houston, SMU and Central Florida in all sports while also adding Boise State and San Diego State as football only members.  Congratulations Big East, you've lost your best members and all regional rivalries and created another Conference USA that for now remains a BCS automatic qualifier.

I imagine Boise State head coach Chris Peterson will be singing a different song than he was last week.  After his Broncos were left out of the BCS and forced to accept a bid to the MAACO Bowl Las Vegas to face a 6-6 Arizona State team who just fired Dennis Erickson, Peterson fired off, claiming "everybody is just very tired of the BCS."  Don't worry Coach Peterson, you'll soon be able to play a daunting schedule of SMU, UConn, directional Florida schools and the other powers of the brand new Big Least and cash in with a trip to the Fiesta or Orange Bowls.

Big East commissioner John Marinatto bragged in his news conference about the huge footprint the new Big East will have.  Really sounds great doesn't it?  Ya know, those big time Central Florida and Boise State games or how about the San Diego State versus UConn matchups?  One thing's for sure, these coaches and players will be racking up some serious frequent flyer miles.  Miles, and plenty of out of conference losses I'm sure.

Who cares???  Not one damn person.  The Big East has an awful television contract currently and losing their historically best teams and two of their largest television markets is not going to help when they re-negotiate.  Nobody's going to be tuning in for the Big East snoozer of the day at 11AM on Saturday.  This conference is going to be fighting it out with the MAC for Tuesday and Wednesday night games.

If the name of the game is self-preservation then kudos are to be given to the Big East.  They've managed to delay their death for at least a couple of more years.  That is until Rutgers, UConn, Cincinnati and Louisville head for higher grounds in the inevitable flood that is super-conference expansion.

Best Images of 2011 Season (So Far)

1. Tyrann Mathieu and Mo Claiborne celebrate.

2. Tyrann Mathieu scores on a punt return in the SEC Championship Game.

3. Ron Brooks scores on a interception return against Auburn.

4. Brad Wing punts against Alabama.

5. Barkevious Mingo sacks Auburn quarterback Clint Moseley.

6. Eric Reid takes the ball away from Alabama.

7. Mo Claiborne leaps to intercept the ball against Alabama.

8. Drew Alleman and Brad Wing celebrate the winning kick against Alabama.

9. Spencer Ware celebrates after defeating Alabama.

10. The team enters the field on September 10.

11. The scoreboard after LSU defeated Alabama.

12. The team prepares to enter the field against Oregon.

13. Tyrann Mathieu scores after stripping the Oregon punt returner.

14. Tyrann Mathieu against Northwestern State.

15. The Tiger Stadium crowd

16. The Tigers prepare to take the field against Auburn.

17. Russell Shepard scores a receiving touchdown against Arkansas.

18. The best secondary in the nation enjoying a rest.

19. Sam Montgomery celebrates a defensive stop.

20. Jermauria Rasco celebrates during the victory over Auburn.

21. Rueben Randle scores against Oregon.

22. Rueben Randle burns the Auburn secondary.

23. The offensive line against Mississippi State.

24. The team enters the stadium to fireworks.

25. Mo Claiborne scores on a kickoff return against West Virginia.

26. Barkevious Mingo chases down the Oregon back.

27. Les Miles explains himself to an official.

28. Jarrett Lee passes the ball to DeAngelo Peterson against Tennessee.

29. J.C. Copeland and Spencer Ware celebrate against Florida.

30. The Tigers get hyped before kickoff.

31. Sam Montgomery brings the swagger during pregame.

32. Helmets ready to collide with opponents.

33. A Tiger raises his helmet in celebration during the defeat of Oregon.

34. Jarrett Lee checks the defense out against Oregon.

35. Michael Ford punches one in against the Ducks.

36. Michael Ford runs down the sideline in OT against Alabama.

37. Members of the defense react to a punt return score from Mathieu.

38. Brad Wings taunts Florida defenders as he races to the endzone.

39. Will Blackwell and Alfred Blue celebrate his score against UGA.

40. The Tiger Band plays as it marches to Tiger Stadium.