That's alright, becasue some decent matchups are on the horizon. I have been betting the bowl season on the day the games are played. Since I'm headed down to Austin for New Years, I'll go ahead and post my picks for the games through this weekend and New Year's Day.
Boston College -7 over Navy
BC is going through some coaching turnover but I still think they have too much athleticism on defense to let Navy do much on them. Navy is without their main threat at fullback, Matt Ballard, and I'm not sure if they are going to be able to do enough to hang around in this one.
Navy often relishes the role of underdog, but I don't think motivation will be enough to hang around talent wise in this game.
Small Play
Virginia Tech -2.5 over Georgia
As Dave and Cuyler like to tell me, I really need to start rooting for Georgia Freshman Matthew Stafford. Afterall, I am marrying a girl from Highland Park therefore I now have to root for the Parkies and their alumni. Despite their best wishes, I have no particular love for Highland Park athletics, but i certainly encouraged by Stafford to this point. Unfortunately, Virginia Tech has one of the best defenses in the country. I think the more veteran team wins this game so lay the points.
Large Play
Auburn -1.5 over Nebraska
The Cotton Bowl classic has probably never had less excitement. Sure, there have probably been worse teams than these two, but tickets are going for about $15 and probably will be given away by gametime. Pretty sad state of affairs for a once proud game. Talent wise Auburn will blow Nebraska out of the building. And given their lackluster performance in last year's bowl loss to Wisconsin, Auburn should have no problem getting mentally prepared for this contest against Nebraska. Apparently, the world's best fans in the state of Nebraska are having a tough time getting excited for the Big D on New Year's Day. Can't say I blame them...
Medium Play
Tennessee -4 over Penn St.
It was an up and down year in Knoxville for the Volunteers but I think the team looked good enough to lay a larger number to a pretty pedestrian Penn St. team. In big games, Penn St. never threatened ND, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Ohio St. Unless Paterno can find a way to score points, Tennesee will be too much offensively for the Nittany Lions. Hope Paterno's knee is doing better.
Medium Play
Wisconsin +2 over Arkansas
Because of the great seasons by Michigan and Ohio St., Wisconsin quietly put together an 11-1 season with a 14 point loss to Michigan being their only blemish. Arkansas put up some fireworks during the middle of the season but a disappointing finish with losses to LSU in Little Rock and heartbreaker to Florida in the SEC game cannot be overlooked. This reminds me too much of last year when Auburn got embarrassed by Wisconsin despite being a much more talented team. Maybe Houston Nutt can prove me wrong, but I like Wisky in this spot.
Large Play
Good luck to everyone this bowl season and everyone have a good New Years!
