Jim
12-07-2009, 07:42 PM
Here is my “Shoot from the Hip” first salvo at the bowl games for your viewing pleasure. Hopefully, the laughter it will elicit will result in joy-tears as it has been proven that laughing is actually very good for the overall health of the human body.
Consider this posting as a benevolent gesture at trying to do my part in contributing to this forum’s overall health. Don’t worry I will not be sending any bills as this is my personal gift to all of you who have bothered to read it. Merry Christmas, Ho! Ho! Ho!
All game results are straight up “win” or “lose”. Those teams I am predicting to win are underlined. This will change - of that you can be assured.
Now, there are three games that I will most certainly watch as I truly feel they’ll be exciting and we’ll get a solid effort by the underdogs. They are insignificant on the national scene but mean a lot to the programs involved – especially the underdogs as I see them. Those games are Troy vs. Central Michigan, Middle Tennessee vs. Southern Mississippi and Temple vs. UCLA as I think Army doesn’t really stand a chance against the potent Navy offense so the Cadets will be home for the holidays I’m afraid.
UCLA must be wondering … “What has happened to us?, Here we are travelling at least 3,000 miles to play on a frozen tundra against who ??? – Temple !!!”. One has to wonder why UCLA would even bother with agreeing to play this game. The trip certainly can’t do much of anything for their recruiting efforts but it can certainly help Temple. I think the Owls give them one hell of a game. I am even going out on a limb and saying this is the equivalent in Temple’s mind of heading out to LA to play Alabama for the national title. This is a really big game for the Owls who have known nothing but misery and defeat for years and years. Watch out for an extremely inspired Temple to put up a winning effort against UCLA that can’t possibly be enthusiastic or truly inspired about heading to Washington DC- in December (brrrr!) to play Temple !!! What have we, the UCLA Bruins,
come to?
Troy plays well in bowl games and especially well when an underdog. I thought CMU, at 11-2 and MAC champions, would have garnered a better bowl game vs. a Nevada, Fresno State or even Idaho from the WAC. Again, this game is down south in Troy’s home state. The Chippewa’s have a lot of talent and once they get a few hits from the Trojans they may realize they are playing a team hell bent on handing them their northern-boy asses. I expect a solid game where attitude will have these two teams “mixing” it up.
Thirdly, Middle Tennessee and Southern Miss. The Eagles are used to playing up vs. BCS teams. They haven’t been as successful recently as they have been but Fedora will have USM ready to play. MTSU is another team who usually plays up outside the SBC and has actually won a couple of those games recently. So the Raiders are coming up and USM is on idle but getting better. Another spirited game where the south meets the south as in Tennessee vs. Mississippi. A good gauge to see where MTSU is in particular.
BIG EAST ….. 5-1 (other than the Sugar Bowl, all looks favorable)
SEC …………… 6-4 (this makes me nervous, could easily be 8-2)
PAC TEN ……. 4-3 (good mix of wins against great to good competition)
BIG TEN ……. 4-3 (goes against the trend and probably common sense)
WAC …………. 2-2 (big one is in the Fiesta Bowl)
MWC …………. 2-3 (like I said, the big one is in the Fiesta Bowl)
BIG 12 ……… 3-5 (as usual the Big 12 struggles and comes up short)
ACC …………… 2-5 (starts off with Iowa beating Georgia Tech)
CUSA ………… 2-4 (pretty much what is expected)
INDEP ………. 0-1 (Missouri has solid rush defense plus an offense)
SUN BELT …. 0-2 (Troy vs. CMU might be a good one)
BCS Bowls: Alabama, Florida, Oregon, TCU and Iowa.
PAC TEN – (4-3)
Ohio State vs. Oregon
Nebraska vs. Arizona
Brigham Young vs. Oregon State
Oklahoma vs. Stanford
Boston College vs. USC
Utah vs. California
Temple vs. UCLA
MOUNTAIN WEST- (2-3)
Boise State vs. TCU
Oregon State vs. Brigham Young
California vs. Utah
Houston vs. Air Force
Fresno State vs. Wyoming
WAC- (2-2)
TCU vs. Boise State
SMU vs. Nevada
Bowling Green vs. Idaho
Wyoming vs. Fresno State
BIG 12- (3-5)
Alabama vs. Texas
Arizona vs. Nebraska
Mississippi vs. Oklahoma State
Michigan State vs. Texas Tech
Stanford vs. Oklahoma
Georgia vs. Texas A&M
Minnesota vs. Iowa State
Navy vs. Missouri
BIG TEN- (4-3)
Oregon vs. Ohio State
Georgia Tech vs. Iowa
LSU vs. Penn State
Auburn vs. Northwestern
Texas Tech vs. Michigan State (blowout alert)
Miami vs. Wisconsin
Iowa State vs. Minnesota
MAC- (3-1)
Troy vs. Central Michigan
South Florida vs. Northern Illinois
Marshall vs. Ohio
Idaho vs. Bowling Green
SEC- (6-4)
Texas vs. Alabama
Cincinnati vs. Florida
Oklahoma State vs. Mississippi
Penn State vs. LSU
Northwestern vs. Auburn
Virginia Tech vs. Tennessee
Clemson vs. Kentucky
Texas A&M vs. Georgia
East Carolina vs. Arkansas
Connecticut vs. South Carolina
ACC- (2-5)
Iowa vs. Georgia Tech
Tennessee vs. Virginia Tech
Kentucky vs. Clemson
Wisconsin vs. Miami
USC vs. Boston College
Pittsburgh vs. North Carolina
West Virginia vs. Florida State
BIG EAST- (5-1)
Florida vs. Cincinnati
Florida State vs. West Virginia
North Carolina vs. Pittsburgh
UCF vs. Rutgers
South Carolina vs. Connecticut
Northern Illinois vs. South Florida
CUSA- (2-4)
Arkansas vs. East Carolina
Air Force vs. Houston
Rutgers vs. UCF
Middle Tennessee vs. Southern Miss
Nevada vs. SMU
Ohio vs. Marshall
SUN BELT- (0-2)
Southern Miss vs. Middle Tennessee
Central Michigan vs. Troy
INDEPENDENTS- (0-1)
Missouri vs. Navy
Consider this posting as a benevolent gesture at trying to do my part in contributing to this forum’s overall health. Don’t worry I will not be sending any bills as this is my personal gift to all of you who have bothered to read it. Merry Christmas, Ho! Ho! Ho!
All game results are straight up “win” or “lose”. Those teams I am predicting to win are underlined. This will change - of that you can be assured.
Now, there are three games that I will most certainly watch as I truly feel they’ll be exciting and we’ll get a solid effort by the underdogs. They are insignificant on the national scene but mean a lot to the programs involved – especially the underdogs as I see them. Those games are Troy vs. Central Michigan, Middle Tennessee vs. Southern Mississippi and Temple vs. UCLA as I think Army doesn’t really stand a chance against the potent Navy offense so the Cadets will be home for the holidays I’m afraid.
UCLA must be wondering … “What has happened to us?, Here we are travelling at least 3,000 miles to play on a frozen tundra against who ??? – Temple !!!”. One has to wonder why UCLA would even bother with agreeing to play this game. The trip certainly can’t do much of anything for their recruiting efforts but it can certainly help Temple. I think the Owls give them one hell of a game. I am even going out on a limb and saying this is the equivalent in Temple’s mind of heading out to LA to play Alabama for the national title. This is a really big game for the Owls who have known nothing but misery and defeat for years and years. Watch out for an extremely inspired Temple to put up a winning effort against UCLA that can’t possibly be enthusiastic or truly inspired about heading to Washington DC- in December (brrrr!) to play Temple !!! What have we, the UCLA Bruins,
come to?
Troy plays well in bowl games and especially well when an underdog. I thought CMU, at 11-2 and MAC champions, would have garnered a better bowl game vs. a Nevada, Fresno State or even Idaho from the WAC. Again, this game is down south in Troy’s home state. The Chippewa’s have a lot of talent and once they get a few hits from the Trojans they may realize they are playing a team hell bent on handing them their northern-boy asses. I expect a solid game where attitude will have these two teams “mixing” it up.
Thirdly, Middle Tennessee and Southern Miss. The Eagles are used to playing up vs. BCS teams. They haven’t been as successful recently as they have been but Fedora will have USM ready to play. MTSU is another team who usually plays up outside the SBC and has actually won a couple of those games recently. So the Raiders are coming up and USM is on idle but getting better. Another spirited game where the south meets the south as in Tennessee vs. Mississippi. A good gauge to see where MTSU is in particular.
BIG EAST ….. 5-1 (other than the Sugar Bowl, all looks favorable)
SEC …………… 6-4 (this makes me nervous, could easily be 8-2)
PAC TEN ……. 4-3 (good mix of wins against great to good competition)
BIG TEN ……. 4-3 (goes against the trend and probably common sense)
WAC …………. 2-2 (big one is in the Fiesta Bowl)
MWC …………. 2-3 (like I said, the big one is in the Fiesta Bowl)
BIG 12 ……… 3-5 (as usual the Big 12 struggles and comes up short)
ACC …………… 2-5 (starts off with Iowa beating Georgia Tech)
CUSA ………… 2-4 (pretty much what is expected)
INDEP ………. 0-1 (Missouri has solid rush defense plus an offense)
SUN BELT …. 0-2 (Troy vs. CMU might be a good one)
BCS Bowls: Alabama, Florida, Oregon, TCU and Iowa.
PAC TEN – (4-3)
Ohio State vs. Oregon
Nebraska vs. Arizona
Brigham Young vs. Oregon State
Oklahoma vs. Stanford
Boston College vs. USC
Utah vs. California
Temple vs. UCLA
MOUNTAIN WEST- (2-3)
Boise State vs. TCU
Oregon State vs. Brigham Young
California vs. Utah
Houston vs. Air Force
Fresno State vs. Wyoming
WAC- (2-2)
TCU vs. Boise State
SMU vs. Nevada
Bowling Green vs. Idaho
Wyoming vs. Fresno State
BIG 12- (3-5)
Alabama vs. Texas
Arizona vs. Nebraska
Mississippi vs. Oklahoma State
Michigan State vs. Texas Tech
Stanford vs. Oklahoma
Georgia vs. Texas A&M
Minnesota vs. Iowa State
Navy vs. Missouri
BIG TEN- (4-3)
Oregon vs. Ohio State
Georgia Tech vs. Iowa
LSU vs. Penn State
Auburn vs. Northwestern
Texas Tech vs. Michigan State (blowout alert)
Miami vs. Wisconsin
Iowa State vs. Minnesota
MAC- (3-1)
Troy vs. Central Michigan
South Florida vs. Northern Illinois
Marshall vs. Ohio
Idaho vs. Bowling Green
SEC- (6-4)
Texas vs. Alabama
Cincinnati vs. Florida
Oklahoma State vs. Mississippi
Penn State vs. LSU
Northwestern vs. Auburn
Virginia Tech vs. Tennessee
Clemson vs. Kentucky
Texas A&M vs. Georgia
East Carolina vs. Arkansas
Connecticut vs. South Carolina
ACC- (2-5)
Iowa vs. Georgia Tech
Tennessee vs. Virginia Tech
Kentucky vs. Clemson
Wisconsin vs. Miami
USC vs. Boston College
Pittsburgh vs. North Carolina
West Virginia vs. Florida State
BIG EAST- (5-1)
Florida vs. Cincinnati
Florida State vs. West Virginia
North Carolina vs. Pittsburgh
UCF vs. Rutgers
South Carolina vs. Connecticut
Northern Illinois vs. South Florida
CUSA- (2-4)
Arkansas vs. East Carolina
Air Force vs. Houston
Rutgers vs. UCF
Middle Tennessee vs. Southern Miss
Nevada vs. SMU
Ohio vs. Marshall
SUN BELT- (0-2)
Southern Miss vs. Middle Tennessee
Central Michigan vs. Troy
INDEPENDENTS- (0-1)
Missouri vs. Navy