Well, week one went well. If not for San Diego State’s kicker missing a game winning field goal against Navy, I’d be perfect. Never trust a college kicker… unless he plays for Auburn.
Since the 2nd week of bowls features over 20 games, I’ve split them up into two prediction posts. Here’s the first half. It starts slow and builds nicely.
Bowls: 15-6 (71.4%)
Regular Season: 96-39 (71.1%)
Overall: 111-45 (71.2%)
12/26
Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl (12 p.m. ESPN)
Illinois vs. Louisiana Tech – If Auburn beats you, I will pull for you for the rest of the season. So congratulations Louisiana Tech, you have my support! Does the winner of this game get free Zax Sauce for life? They should. Big win for the Bulldogs over a lesser team with a bigger name.
Louisiana Tech 24, Illinois 21
Louisiana Tech 35, Illinois 18 – SUCCESS!
Quick Lane Bowl (3:30 p.m. ESPN)
Rutgers vs. North Carolina – Sadly, Quick Lane Bowl has nothing to do with bowling. Bowling. Lane. Come on. But it’s in Detroit, therefore Quick Lane refers to some car or tire company or something. I don’t care, it’s Detroit.
North Carolina has been off and on all season and I was unaware that Rutgers played any games this season, so I’ll go with the Heels that apparently stepped on a newly paved road.
North Carolina 27, Rutgers 16
Rutgers 40, North Carolina 21 – FAILURE
Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl (7 p.m. ESPN)
North Carolina State vs. UCF – It is truly the 21st century. Ok maybe Bitcoin shouldn’t be the determining factor of that, but it’s pretty cool that a form of currency is sponsoring a bowl game. It’s pretty much the equivalent of The Dollar St. Petersburg Bowl.
But enough about the name of the game, let’s talk about football. UCF will win.
UCF 34, North Carolina State 17
North Carolina State 17, UCF 34 – FAILURE
12/27
Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman (12 p.m. ESPN)
Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech – Oh, the Auburn connections. Tommy Tuberville, Eddie Gran, Ryan Pugh versus Scot Loeffler, if we actually claim that Loeffler was at Auburn for that one dreadful year. The only thing that could make this more Auburn is if Chizik was in the booth.
Tuberville was a better Auburn man than Scot Loeffler ever thought about being, so the Bearcats will win and win big.
Cincinnati 35, Virginia Tech 7
Virginia Tech 33, Cincinnati 17 – FAILURE
Hyundai Sun Bowl (2 p.m. CBS)
Arizona State vs. Duke – Both teams are 9-3. Arizona State had a few inexplicable losses. Duke had a few inexplicable losses. Arizona is ranked #15. Duke is not ranked. Arizona State is the more proven team, and the better team. They will win. I mean, they are Sun Devils. It’s the Sun Bowl. Duh.
Arizona State 42, Duke 28
Arizona State 36, Duke 31 – SUCCESS!
Duck Commander Independence Bowl (2:30 p.m. ABC)
Miami vs. South Carolina – Now this one sounds interesting. You got the U. You got the Ol’ Ball Coach. You got beards. I’m not sure if the teams are up for the challenge of making this game as decent as it sounds, but we’ll see.
Both teams were good enough to win some big games, but both were inconsistent enough that they didn’t. It’s same vs. same. South Carolina wins because they SEC, man.
South Carolina 31, Miami 21
South Carolina 24, Miami 21 – SUCCESS!
New Era Pinstripe Bowl (3:30 p.m. ESPN)
Boston College vs. Penn State – Well this one sounds nostalgic. Penn State playing in Yankee Stadium? You can’t get more northern and old school than that. But what about those Boston kids going into the house Jeter built? That could turn out not so well.
The Nittany Lions were barely bowl-eligible, but I think they’re better than that. Boston College had the chance to beat Florida State, but didn’t, so they deserve to lose everything.
Penn State 14, Boston College 10
Penn State 31, Boston College 30 – SUCCESS!
National University Holiday Bowl (7 p.m. ESPN)
Nebraska vs. USC – Nebraska is Pelini-less. USC is spine-less. The Holiday Bowl, usually a shootout of epic proportions, might not be so this year. USC does have much more stability than the Huskers right now. And the game is a just a few hours away. The Trojans will win handily.
USC 45, Nebraska 10
USC 45, Nebraska 42 – SUCCESS!
12/29
AutoZone Liberty Bowl (1 p.m. ESPN)
Texas A&M vs. West Virginia – By the looks of this one, there will be points. Texas A&M isn’t scoring ’em like they used to, but they’ll still put some up against the ‘eers.
Almost heaven… West Virginia… Blue Ridge mountains… Shenandoah…sorry, zoned out there for a second.
West Virginia 42, Texas A&M 38
Texas A&M 45, West Virginia 37 – FAILURE
Russell Athletic Bowl (4:30 p.m. ESPN)
Oklahoma vs. Clemson – The Sooners won the Sugar Bowl last year. The Tigers won the Orange Bowl last year. Now they are playing each other in a bowl named for a company that still makes cotton athletic shorts.
Clemson has taken steps back this year while Oklahoma is about where they’ve been for the last decade. Boomer.
Oklahoma 31, Clemson 17
Clemson 40, Oklahoma 6 – FAILURE
AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl (8 p.m. ESPN)
Arkansas vs. Texas – Regardless of how this one turns out, the outcome is going to be given way too much. If Arkansas beats Texas, it sounds impressive because it’s Texas and it’s an Arkansas team that’s been awful for the better part of two years. If Texas wins, they’ll act like doing so was a major feat because Arkansas kind of turned it on the last month of the season.
The bottom line is that both teams are still in the mediocre at best stage and are capable of beating a decent team once in a while. SEC wins tho.
Arkansas 31, Texas 17
Arkansas 31, Texas 7 – SUCCESS!
