Bowl predictions
Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 10:56 pm
Here is how I see the bowl season playing out:
Best bowl record (conference): Big-12.
Why? Best matchups.
-10-2 Missouri is facing a 7-5 Iowa team that is unlikely to even show up and is missing 2 key starters (including their best player).
-Oklahoma is playing a high school team in a freakin BCS Bowl
-10-2 Oklahoma State is facing a 7-5 Arizona team
-Kansas State is facing another Big East squad (Syracuse).
-Texas Tech is facing a Northwestern team without Dan Persa (their clear MVP and leader)
-Baylor is facing Ron Zook
-Nebraska is facing a 7-5 (or are they 6-6?) Washington team they already beat by 150 or something like that
If Texas A&M can manage to beat LSU (and I think they have a very good shot), the Big-12 could realistically go 8-0 and it won't prove a god damn thing because the only quality team they are facing is LSU and Iowa, but you have to figure Iowa doesn't come ready to play given how disappointing of a season they had and with not having their best player (and starting running back).
How on earth did the Big-12 get this draw? LSU is the ONLY team they face out of 8 games that has a record better than 8-4, and UCONN is the only other team to have better than a 7-5 record. What. The. Fuck? 3 teams are facing Big East squads. I know this isn't the fault of the teams in the Big-12. The Big East and Pac-10 are horrible so a couple of the top Big-12 teams are facing off against shitty Pac-10 and Big East squads. But still, I think they have a damn good shot of going 8-0 and it will only prove what an embarrassment the bowl system has become.
The other conferences:
SEC- They have a lot of swing games that will make or break their overall record, but I give them the slight edge in just about all of those games......Georgia/UCF, South Carolina/FSU, LSU/A&M, Tennessee/UNC, Auburn/Oregon, Mississippi State/Michigan. I expect them to go at least 5-2 in those games. I also expect Kentucky to whoop Pittsburgh, Alabama to beat MSU, Florida to lose to Penn State (probably 3-0) and Arkansas to get rolled by Ohio State. Overall, they will go 8-3 or 7-4.
Big-10: Games I am confident in the Big-10 getting are Ohio State over Arkansas, Penn State over Florida, Wisconsin by 30 over TCU. Toss-up games are Michigan/Miss St, and Illinois/Baylor. Probable losses are Missouri over Iowa, Texas Tech over Northwestern, and Alabama over MSU. Overall, I expect 4-4 at best with 3-5 likely. By far, the Big-10 got the worst draws or breaks of bad luck. That's not an excuse, it's the truth. You have a 7-5 Iowa team without 2 key players coming off a disappointing season somehow matched up against a 10-2 team that has something to prove. Then you have a Northwestern team that would easily beat Texas Tech with Dan Persa. Take him off that team and their offense is worthless. MSU is 11-1 but they're facing about as good of a 9-3 football team as you will ever see (Alabama). Because of Iowa's lack of effort, Michigan has to play a level above what they are capable of so there's a good shot they will lose to Mississippi State. Had Iowa beaten Minnesota, I would like our chances against either Florida or Miss. State (especially Florida). But they didn't show up, so the conference will pay for it.
BCS Predictions:
Ohio State 34 Arkansas 23
Wisconsin 37 TCU 13
Oklahoma 38 UCONN 3
Auburn 27 Oregon 23
Virginia Tech 24 Stanford 17 (my big upset pick)
Other bowl games of "note":
-Notre Dame will beat Miami by 20
-NC State and West Virginia will be a close game with NC State getting the edge 23-20
-Nevada will beat Boston College by at least 2 touchdowns
Overall bowl season grade: F
Why? Shitty games. Shitty matchups. The BCS bowl games are mediocre even. In fact, they're not even the best games. How the heck does that happen? Oklahoma should be playing Wisconsin. TCU should be playing UCONN in a game that the other BCS bowls chip in to pay them off to bite the bullet. You have an entire conference (Big-12) playing absolutely nobody except maybe 1 or 2 teams (guess it depends what Iowa team shows up if that is 2 quality teams or just 1). Ridiculous.
Oh, and let's not forget the stupid names of the bowl games. Somebody remind me why we have these games and not a playoff? Oh, that's right........tradition? What tradition? All the past tradition of these bowl games has been completely ruined. Wisconsin is playing a fucking mid-major in the Rose Bowl and Oklahoma is playing a JUCO team in another BCS Bowl. And the Cotton Bowl is on.........January 7th???? Tradition, my ass.
Top 10 Bowl games:
1.Iowa/Missouri. Well, in my opinion it is because it's really the only one I care much about since my team is playing. Actually, if Iowa feels like showing up this will be one of the best bowl games regardless of who you root for. You have a 10-2 Missouri team against a team that SHOULD be 10-2 (or better).
2.Auburn/Oregon. Interested to see how the offenses fare after a month off and how who handles the pressure the best. Plus, it's the national title game so how can you not get excited for it?
3.Michigan State/Alabama. 11-1 team trying to prove they belong in a BCS Bowl against their former coach and the defending national champions. The last time Saban coached in this game, he lost to Iowa following a year in which his team won the national title. Kirk Cousins, MSU's starting QB, is an Iowa fan so maybe he will have a little Drew Tate magic in him.
4.South Carolina/Florida State. I will watch because I'm a fan of Spurrier. Spurrier vs FSU is always fun to see, it's just too bad Bowden isn't still there. But both teams are pretty evenly matched, though I would give a slight edge to South Carolina.
5.Virginia Tech/Stanford. Va Tech has won 11 in a row and I think they have a damn good shot of pulling an upset here.
6.Ohio State/Arkansas. The 'ol offense vs defense test. I will take defense, thank you very much.
7.Wisconsin/TCU. Now I'm just stretching for a decent game here. I expect Wisconsin to roll so I'm not anticipating much of a game. But it is the Rose Bowl so I will at least partially tune in.
8.LSU/Texas A&M. Decent game. We should find out just how far the Aggies have come since the beginning of the year in this game. I have heard people say that this is their "springboard" game. That's a load of crap. Bowl games have no impact on what goes on the next season. Their 2011 record won't be impacted in any way, shape, or form by the outcome of this game.
9.Michigan/Mississippi State? Watch the see if DickRod gets fired on the field????
10.Kansas State/Syracuse. It was the first game I saw when I clicked my ESPN.com tab so I chose it. There's really no other games I will spend more than 30 seconds watching.
Get rid of the fucking bowls already. Give me some real games to watch and not this gay ass dog and pony show crap we have now.
Best bowl record (conference): Big-12.
Why? Best matchups.
-10-2 Missouri is facing a 7-5 Iowa team that is unlikely to even show up and is missing 2 key starters (including their best player).
-Oklahoma is playing a high school team in a freakin BCS Bowl
-10-2 Oklahoma State is facing a 7-5 Arizona team
-Kansas State is facing another Big East squad (Syracuse).
-Texas Tech is facing a Northwestern team without Dan Persa (their clear MVP and leader)
-Baylor is facing Ron Zook
-Nebraska is facing a 7-5 (or are they 6-6?) Washington team they already beat by 150 or something like that
If Texas A&M can manage to beat LSU (and I think they have a very good shot), the Big-12 could realistically go 8-0 and it won't prove a god damn thing because the only quality team they are facing is LSU and Iowa, but you have to figure Iowa doesn't come ready to play given how disappointing of a season they had and with not having their best player (and starting running back).
How on earth did the Big-12 get this draw? LSU is the ONLY team they face out of 8 games that has a record better than 8-4, and UCONN is the only other team to have better than a 7-5 record. What. The. Fuck? 3 teams are facing Big East squads. I know this isn't the fault of the teams in the Big-12. The Big East and Pac-10 are horrible so a couple of the top Big-12 teams are facing off against shitty Pac-10 and Big East squads. But still, I think they have a damn good shot of going 8-0 and it will only prove what an embarrassment the bowl system has become.
The other conferences:
SEC- They have a lot of swing games that will make or break their overall record, but I give them the slight edge in just about all of those games......Georgia/UCF, South Carolina/FSU, LSU/A&M, Tennessee/UNC, Auburn/Oregon, Mississippi State/Michigan. I expect them to go at least 5-2 in those games. I also expect Kentucky to whoop Pittsburgh, Alabama to beat MSU, Florida to lose to Penn State (probably 3-0) and Arkansas to get rolled by Ohio State. Overall, they will go 8-3 or 7-4.
Big-10: Games I am confident in the Big-10 getting are Ohio State over Arkansas, Penn State over Florida, Wisconsin by 30 over TCU. Toss-up games are Michigan/Miss St, and Illinois/Baylor. Probable losses are Missouri over Iowa, Texas Tech over Northwestern, and Alabama over MSU. Overall, I expect 4-4 at best with 3-5 likely. By far, the Big-10 got the worst draws or breaks of bad luck. That's not an excuse, it's the truth. You have a 7-5 Iowa team without 2 key players coming off a disappointing season somehow matched up against a 10-2 team that has something to prove. Then you have a Northwestern team that would easily beat Texas Tech with Dan Persa. Take him off that team and their offense is worthless. MSU is 11-1 but they're facing about as good of a 9-3 football team as you will ever see (Alabama). Because of Iowa's lack of effort, Michigan has to play a level above what they are capable of so there's a good shot they will lose to Mississippi State. Had Iowa beaten Minnesota, I would like our chances against either Florida or Miss. State (especially Florida). But they didn't show up, so the conference will pay for it.
BCS Predictions:
Ohio State 34 Arkansas 23
Wisconsin 37 TCU 13
Oklahoma 38 UCONN 3
Auburn 27 Oregon 23
Virginia Tech 24 Stanford 17 (my big upset pick)
Other bowl games of "note":
-Notre Dame will beat Miami by 20
-NC State and West Virginia will be a close game with NC State getting the edge 23-20
-Nevada will beat Boston College by at least 2 touchdowns
Overall bowl season grade: F
Why? Shitty games. Shitty matchups. The BCS bowl games are mediocre even. In fact, they're not even the best games. How the heck does that happen? Oklahoma should be playing Wisconsin. TCU should be playing UCONN in a game that the other BCS bowls chip in to pay them off to bite the bullet. You have an entire conference (Big-12) playing absolutely nobody except maybe 1 or 2 teams (guess it depends what Iowa team shows up if that is 2 quality teams or just 1). Ridiculous.
Oh, and let's not forget the stupid names of the bowl games. Somebody remind me why we have these games and not a playoff? Oh, that's right........tradition? What tradition? All the past tradition of these bowl games has been completely ruined. Wisconsin is playing a fucking mid-major in the Rose Bowl and Oklahoma is playing a JUCO team in another BCS Bowl. And the Cotton Bowl is on.........January 7th???? Tradition, my ass.
Top 10 Bowl games:
1.Iowa/Missouri. Well, in my opinion it is because it's really the only one I care much about since my team is playing. Actually, if Iowa feels like showing up this will be one of the best bowl games regardless of who you root for. You have a 10-2 Missouri team against a team that SHOULD be 10-2 (or better).
2.Auburn/Oregon. Interested to see how the offenses fare after a month off and how who handles the pressure the best. Plus, it's the national title game so how can you not get excited for it?
3.Michigan State/Alabama. 11-1 team trying to prove they belong in a BCS Bowl against their former coach and the defending national champions. The last time Saban coached in this game, he lost to Iowa following a year in which his team won the national title. Kirk Cousins, MSU's starting QB, is an Iowa fan so maybe he will have a little Drew Tate magic in him.
4.South Carolina/Florida State. I will watch because I'm a fan of Spurrier. Spurrier vs FSU is always fun to see, it's just too bad Bowden isn't still there. But both teams are pretty evenly matched, though I would give a slight edge to South Carolina.
5.Virginia Tech/Stanford. Va Tech has won 11 in a row and I think they have a damn good shot of pulling an upset here.
6.Ohio State/Arkansas. The 'ol offense vs defense test. I will take defense, thank you very much.
7.Wisconsin/TCU. Now I'm just stretching for a decent game here. I expect Wisconsin to roll so I'm not anticipating much of a game. But it is the Rose Bowl so I will at least partially tune in.
8.LSU/Texas A&M. Decent game. We should find out just how far the Aggies have come since the beginning of the year in this game. I have heard people say that this is their "springboard" game. That's a load of crap. Bowl games have no impact on what goes on the next season. Their 2011 record won't be impacted in any way, shape, or form by the outcome of this game.
9.Michigan/Mississippi State? Watch the see if DickRod gets fired on the field????
10.Kansas State/Syracuse. It was the first game I saw when I clicked my ESPN.com tab so I chose it. There's really no other games I will spend more than 30 seconds watching.
Get rid of the fucking bowls already. Give me some real games to watch and not this gay ass dog and pony show crap we have now.
