NC State vs. Pittsburgh
--Yawn. The Tangerine Bowl returns to the scene with this "classic" matchup. In fact, the title sponsor for this game is "Visit Florida". The "Visit Florida" Tangerine Bowl. Is that a sponsor, or a plea? With a questionable WR Antonio Bryant (ankle), the Marino alma mater has no shot.
Utah vs. USC
--Pete Carroll didn't have a great first season at SC, but he has the team going in the right direction--they lost their first four games (to the likes of Washington and Oregon) by a combined 14 points. QB Carson Palmer has been a mega-bust in the college ranks, but he will go out with a win.
Stanford vs. Georgia Tech
--The first true intriguing matchup of bowl season will come, fittingly, in a bowl that--thank GOD--has NO title sponsor. It's top notch Pac 10 Stanford vs. well, ACC-also ran Georgia Tech. The Ramblin' Wreck have underachieved so badly that no one really cares former coach George O'Leary is gone...and if they do, take a look at what former O-coordinator Ralph Friedgen did at Maryland--a team with exponentially LESS talent. Gotta go with the Pac 10 and any team that has a guy named "Tank" (FS Williams).
Iowa St. vs. Alabama
--In the last two seasons the Crimson Tide have yet to manage the win total many expected of them for the 2000 season...but Franchione has the group on the right track. QB Andrew Zow found his game late in the year and RBs Ahmad Galloway and Santonio Beard are the toughest 1-2 punch this side of Oregon RBs Maurice Morris and Ontarrio Smith. Iowa State is definitely no slouch, however, hailing from the toughest country in all the land, the Big XII. QB Seneca Wallace's 62% completion percentage nicely complements underrated RB Ennis Haywood's solid ground game. Nonetheless, look for huge plays from Beard, Galloway and Zow in a Tide win...and hey, WR Freddie Milons may make his first cameo since the whole open-the-season punt return TD against UCLA LAST YEAR...
Texas A&M vs. TCU
--First, I refuse to acknowledge this as a dot-com bowl. Gallery Furniture, while still ridiculous sounding, is much more coherent than gallerfurniture.com. This matchup will not interest anyone outside the state of Texas save perhaps myself, a converted Aggie fan based solely on their great, underrated fight song. However, Texas A&M's offense this year makes the Memphis teams of old look like Florida State...they refuse to score touchdowns. TCU has solid talent in QB Casey Printers and WR LaTerence Dunbar, but the Wreckin' Crew will neutralize them enough for a win.
Boston College vs. Georgia
--I don't know how Arkansas is playing in the Cotton Bowl and a much-superior Georgia squad (that beat Arkansas 34-23 early this season) is going to Nashville. Nonetheless, the very talented QB David Greene takes the Dawgs to face the only-one-great-player Golden Eagles. RB William Green may be the best back in the country, but he doesn't have the supporting cast to top UGA, and try as he might, he can't do it by himself. .
Texas vs. Washington
--Perhaps the best pre-New Year's Day bowl (and still one of the best of the season) features Big XII and Pac10 powers. The Huskies slowed considerably at the end of the year, and the Massacre in Miami is to thank for that. It took a 3 INT, fumble lost meltdown in the FIRST HALF Big XII Title Game by Big Game Choker QB Chris Simms for Mack Brown to bench the supposed Golden Boy (I can't believe they tried to sell a fake injury) and insert the Rocky of college football, QB Major Applewhite. I'll never forget the pounding Applewhite took in his first ever start in Manhattan, KS, in '98 but he bounced back to be the last QB to beat Nebraska in Lincoln a few weeks later, forever earning my respect and admiration. He then promptly beat Nebraska AGAIN and won Big XII Offensive Player of the Year the next season (before promptly yielding to the revenge-minded Huskers in the Big XII Title Game, blowing out his knee in the process and starting the whole Simms mess). But he will have a HUGE finale against the Huskies in the Holiday Bowl, which is ALWAYS one of the best two or three bowl games every year. WRs Roy Williams and Sloan Thomas should have great nights...but the Huskies have a stud WR Williams of their own, true freshman 6'4" Reggie. He's every bit as good as his Texas surname counterpart, but with CB Quentin Jammer locked up on him most of the night, he'll be negated and Major deservedly goes out on top.
Toledo vs. Cincinnati
--How far has the Motor City Bowl fallen from its stellar Ole Miss vs. Randy Moss and Marshall 1997 debut? Ok, not very far...but this is pretty bad. Look for Toledo RB Chester Taylor to run all over Cincy like he did Marshall in the MAC title game...
Iowa vs. Texas Tech
--All you will hear about during this game is how underrated Tech QB Kliff Kingsbury is. Truth is, he hasn't really done much in BIG games. He lit up Nebraska a little this year, but that shouldn't surprise people who watch Nebraska. He did almost nothing against Oklahoma and Texas. He's still a very solid QB though. Iowa has another guy you'll get sick of hearing about, WR Kahlil Hill. Oh wait a minute, I guess I'm expecting you guys to watch this game...that's a reach.
Kansas State vs. Syracuse
--Remember when this game was on TBS? Yeah, that's right, TBS! What the hell was that all about? For the average fan, this will be a bit of a boring matchup, but since I love the Big XII, this game does nothing but appeal to me. K State had one of the most underachieving seasons in recent memory (every Bama season since 92 excluded) but look for them to make a statement in the desert. RB Josh Scobey will find holes just big enough (probably on pass-rush specialist DE Dwight Freeney's side, since he'll be going wide all night) to led the Wildcats to victory in this defensive battle.
Louisiana Tech vs. Clemson
--Clemson is the Texas of the east...chronically underachieving with supposed-all world talent. For the last two years this team was supposed to do big things...but instead they've promptly lost game after game they were supposed to win...especially at home. This team loses games at home against underdogs like it's supposed to happen. Sorry, but the real "Death Valley" is in Baton Rouge. Nonetheless, they should walk on a hapless La Tech squad...wait a minute...they SHOULD. Hmmm..maybe I'll flip a coin.
Washington St. vs. Purdue
--Wazzu (as they are affectionately called in the northwest) returns to the national scene after its post-Leaf funk. Purdue fans had high expectations for QB Brandon Hance...until he bombed like Mariah Carey's "Glitter." He got run out of town...literally...he is going to transfer. This is one of the most unappealing bowls of the season. Ugh. When was the last memorable Sun Bowl?
Fresno St. vs. Michigan St.
--I told all the Fresno bandwagoners early in the season that they weren't all that (right, Reiley?), and a couple of Friday night losses vindicated me. Well, just because I didn't think they were a legit top 10 (or 20 for that matter) team doesn't mean I don't think they'll take out another underachieving team. Where's MSU RB TJ Duckett been all year? The Spartans need a QB like Bud Selig needs a bodyguard. This game is actuallly called the "Silicon Valley Classic," yet this is the inaugural game. What the hell?
Louisville vs. BYU
--As Bill Pidto would say, this game has "ALL the makings" to be a 4.5 hour scoring marathon. Neither defense is worthy of a top flight D-1AA school. Solely based on the fact the Cougars don't have RB Luke Staley, I will go with the Cards.
North Carolina vs. Auburn
--The Peach doesn't get the pub it deserves...this has been one of the better bowl games over the last few years, but it seems like it's always on New Year's Eve afternoon. Move this game to later in the evening, please. This is one of the most difficult games to pick because both these teams have Jeckyl and Hyde sides to them. Let's see if DE Julius Peppers shows up for a game that the commentators will do nothing but talk about him ALL AFTERNOON. Auburn fans, prepare to hit mute and turn up the hometown broadcast. This time, I really will flip a coin...
NCAA Football STATS
Overall Safe Bets: 14-4
Total: 29-24
Safe Bets: 2-3
Overall: 6-5
A wacky Bowl Season with many more underdogs triumphing than favorites created problems for all prognosticators, myself included. I lost on games like the Citrus, where Cooper was rightfully fired after OSU didn't show up for the game, the Independence, where an incredibly ridiculous 5-yard forward lateral was allowed in MSU's overtime win, the Cotton, where the uninspired Vols made Jonathan Beasley look like a pro prospect, and the Orange, where Bobby Bowden forgot to tell his assistant coaches to coach the team for him...where was the running game? 12 attempts? Please...
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