The second batch of bowl picks was more successful, with four wins, but I still would not have been bowl eligible. So we’re at it again, on what is sure to be a bittersweet day for college football.

Gator Bowl: #18 West Virginia vs. Florida State: It is hard to even write about this game. As frustrating as the final few years have been, Bobby Bowden is a pillar of college football. That they were able to set this game up between his two teams is one of the victories of the bowl system. Simply put, Bowden is one of the five best to ever coach this game. The outcome of the game itself is largely irrelevant. That said, if Florida State wins, giving Bowden his 389th, it would be one heckuva way to finish his 39-year head coaching career.

West Virginia 28, Florida State 21

Capital One Bowl: #11 Penn State vs. #13 LSU: A hard game to read. You’re talking about a Penn State team that wasn’t as good as everyone thought it was, against an LSU team with losses to two of the top three teams in the country and Ole Miss. When Les Miles is involved, anything can happen. LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson is still young, but no one really is once bowl season comes around. The Penn State defense will contain some of LSU’s offensive athleticism, but, just like is always the case when the Big Ten plays the SEC, the defense of LSU will just prove too much to handle for Penn State.

LSU 17, Penn State 10

Sugar Bowl: Florida vs. Cincinnati: The end of an era. There really is no other way to describe a game that will be the last college appearance of Tim Tebow and quite possibly Urban Meyer, at least for some time. Saturday morning will be the first one A.T., something no one is really prepared for. Without the Heisman trophy, two national championships and SEC records, Tebow would still have changed college football. The promise. The off-the-field generosity and missions. The attitude toward his life and his sport. His respect and love for the University of Florida. And his relationship with his head coach, were things that are rarely seen in sports at any level. With Tebow in his final game, playing for the health of Meyer, Kirk Herbstreit was right: Cincinnati has no chance. Oh, and that was before their head coach left the Bearcats.

Florida 38, Cincinnati 17

Rose Bowl: #8 Ohio State vs. #7 Oregon: Amazingly, despite all of its Big Ten championships, Ohio State has not played in the Rose Bowl this decade. Playing in the national championship game all of those times was one of the causes, as were a couple of ties. Now, the Buckeyes are back, against a team that is superior to them athletically on both sides of the bowl. Jeremiah Masoli is a better runner than Terrelle Pryor and the Duck spread option is executed better than the business-like, ultra-conservative Jim Tressel system. This is not a game where Tressel can afford to control the clock. It won’t work. And when it doesn’t, Oregon will pile up point quickly.

Oregon 29, Ohio State 19

The Falcons took a 42-35 lead with 32 seconds left on a 51-yard pass from Tyler Sheehan to Freddie Barnes, who slipped behind the Idaho secondary for his 17th catch of the game and No. 155 in his record-setting season.

But Idaho answered with a 50-yard heave from Enderle to Davis that got the ball to the Bowling Green 16. After an incompletion with 8 seconds left, Enderle found Komar—who had dropped a number of passes—in the middle of the field, and he slid to cradle the low pass.

Coach Robb Akey then decided to go for the 2-point conversion and Enderle threw to Davis alone in the back of the end zone.

When the Falcons were tackled on the ensuing kickoff, Vandals fans poured onto the blue turf of their rivals to celebrate the second bowl win in school history.

Idaho’s hopes of capping its turnaround from two victories in 2008 to a bowl win in 2009 seemed finished when Barnes struck again in his banner senior season. Needing just five receptions to set an NCAA Bowl Subdivision record, Barnes finished with 17 grabs for 219 yards and three touchdowns, the final one putting Bowling Green in prime position for its fifth victory in its last six postseason trips.

But Komar gave the Vandals decent field position with solid kickoff return and Enderle’s long throw landed in the arms of Davis, who finished with four catches for 119 yards. Komar then made his sliding grab and Akey confidently went for 2.

“Well, they hadn’t been able to stop us. … Let’s do it while we got some momentum,” Akey said.

With most of the 26,729 in attendance roaring their approval, Enderle had plenty of time to connect with Davis, setting off a wild, premature celebration. One overly joyous fan ran on the field to the Idaho bench, only to get shoved down by one of the Vandal players.

Idaho (8-5) was penalized but Trey Farquhar’s kickoff bounced inside the BG 5 and the fans finally got to celebrate for real when the returner was tackled.

“I tell you what, I love these players … Don’t doubt these players, they’ll prove you wrong,” Akey said.

The Vandals surged ahead 28-14 in the second half on touchdown runs of 8 and 13 yards by De’Maundray Woolridge, only to see the Falcons rally with 28 of the next 35 points.

Woolridge finished with 22 carries for 126 yards, and Enderle was 15 of 28 for 240 and four touchdowns after starting the game 1 of 6.

Tyler Sheehan was 33 of 47 for 387 yards and four TDs for Bowling Green (7-6). It was the 14th consecutive bowl loss for the Mid-American Conference.

The Falcons’ rally started when Jimmy Scheidler took a well-designed tight end screen 15 yards for a touchdown. After Idaho went three-and-out, Barnes had a 5-yard reception for his second TD catch of the game, tying it at 28.

Davis put the Vandals in front again with a nifty 30-yard, catch-and-run touchdown, leaving Roger Williams grasping at air. Again, the Falcons answered, this time with an eight-play drive capped by Willie Geter’s 2-yard plunge with 3:51 left that tied it at 35.

Idaho drove to the Falcons 40, but had to punt and BG took over with 1:49 left. Facing third-and-11 at their own 49, Barnes got lost in Idaho’s zone coverage and ran free down the sideline for the score.

• One writer predicts Leach will land on his feet. Remember, he was a coveted coach last season.
• Of course Jay Mariotti had to chime in.
• Video of the room where Adam James was held.
• Two revived programs at Nebraska and Arizona square off.
• The Mets make yet another high profile signing.
• A look at the biggest NFL Pro Bowl snubs.

Tagged: Arizona Wildcats, Jason Bay, Mike Leach, Nebraska ]]> http://jbjsports.wordpress.com/2009/12/30/wednesday-links/feed/ 0 Benton http://jbjsports.wordpress.com/2009/12/30/leach-fired/ http://jbjsports.wordpress.com/2009/12/30/leach-fired/#comments Wed, 30 Dec 2009 20:49:05 +0000 Benton http://jbjsports.wordpress.com/?p=1438 Read more]]> Texas Tech has fired head coach Mike Leach, following allegations of mistreatment of a player.

This is far from the last of this situation, as Leach’s lawyer has vowed a fight for the head coach. A hearing was set for Wednesday morning for a temporary restraining order that would have allowed Leach to skirt the suspension Texas Tech had levied on Leach. But the school took the next step, firing Leach and making the hearing moot.

In February, Leach and the school agreed to a five-year, $12.7 million contract. According to terms of the deal, Leach was due an $800,000 bonus on Dec. 31 if he were still the head coach at Texas Tech.

The often eccentric, quirky head coach had been known for his unique style in ten years in Lubbock. But he was successful, posting winning records in each season and bowl games in all as well. Leach had never been accused of any wrongdoing, nor have any other individuals come forward since receiver Adam James made his claims.

Leach is the second Big-12 coach to be fired for “cause” this year, after Mark Mangino was fired at Kansas after numerous allegations of mistreatment of players.

Texas Tech will play Michigan State in the Valero Alamo Bowl on Jan. 2.


Tagged: Adam James, Mike Leach, Texas Tech ]]> http://jbjsports.wordpress.com/2009/12/30/leach-fired/feed/ 0 Benton http://jbjsports.wordpress.com/2009/12/30/2009-top-ten-sports-stories/ http://jbjsports.wordpress.com/2009/12/30/2009-top-ten-sports-stories/#comments Wed, 30 Dec 2009 05:10:51 +0000 Benton http://jbjsports.wordpress.com/?p=1434 Read more]]> Well 2009 was, or still is for a couple of days. And the way news has gone this year, specifically in the last couple of months, the biggest story of the year will probably happen tomorrow. For now though, as the decade comes to an end, let’s take a look back at the biggest stories — not games, just stories — of 2009.



Urban Meyer is taking a leave of absence from Florida.


#10) Cincinnati Bengals: This deserves to go to the entire organization for everything that has happened this year. The positive: Cincy clinched a playoff birth for just the second time in 19 years and did it rather easily, sitting as the champs of the AFC North at 10-5. But the route there was much more painful than a Monday morning.

It started in October, when the wife of defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer died, crushing the Bengal family that she was very much a part of. The team played their Sunday game before attending her Monday funeral. Zimmer coached in the game.

It got worse in December, when their injured wide receiver, Chris Henry, died of injuries sustained a car accident. Henry, 26, had been turning his life around after a rocky college career and beginning of his NFL tenure. Again, the Bengals played on Sunday and attended a funeral the next day.

And the Bengals will continue to play in January, with heavy hearts.

#9) New York Yankees back on top of baseball: They opened a brand spankin’ new $1 billion stadium with seats that cost more than some of the rookies can even afford. But they took advantage, going deep at a pace their predecessors could be proud of and winning at a clip no other team came near after the All-Star break.

New York blew through the playoffs, including a rather easy World Series win. The combination of power, speed and defense culminated in Johnny Damon stealing second and third on the same play in game four of the World Series.

One difference should be noted about this Yankee team, however. They were much less business-like and much more fun. See A.J. Burnett delivering postgame facials after all of the Yanks many late inning wins. And if you thought you had a hold of Burnett, than Nick Swisher was taking his place. Maybe the only team that did it better was the 2009 Mariners, who pioneered the ice cream facial and actually got their manager in his last postgame press conference of the season.

At any rate, all was well in the baseball universe, with number 27 safely in the Bronx.

#8) Pat Summitt, 1,000 wins: Back during the 1974-75 season, Pat Summitt, a graduate assistant who was pursuing a masters in physical education, became the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers women’s basketball team. She was 22.

In 1987 Summitt led Tennessee to its first of eight national championships.

Some 35 years later, Summitt, already considered one of, if not the greatest coach in college basketball history, men’s or women’s, reached a level no one has ever reached in major college basketball: 1,000 wins.

On Feb. 5, 2009, Summitt’s Vols blew out Georgia, 73-43, for the monumental win. The night of the win, the University of Tennessee reward Summitt like they do on the men’s side, making her the first $1 million coach in women’s basketball. Starting in 2011, Summitt will make $1.5 million and if she is still coaching in 2013-2014, she will receive a $1 million bonus to recognize her 40th season.

Only fitting for the coach of what is believed to women’s basketball’s first $1 million player, Candace Parker.

Summitt mind-boggling record: 1,017-194. In 2000 she was named the coach of the century.

#7) Serena Williams tirade at a line judge: It was an instant YouTube classic, as many things are these days. But a woman, specifically a tennis player, berating an official is something different, even today. That it was probably the face of American tennis, Serena Williams begs the question: is it possible to be disappointed, but not surprised at the same time?

That said, what William’s outburst, which cost her quite a bit of cash to go with the negative publicity, certainly touched off one of the debates over what we “think” female athletes are supposed to act like. Yes, this was tennis, so a punishment was obviously likely. But in any American sport, with a male, she would see nothing but an ejection.

The same argument was played out during a brutal women’s soccer game as well. It may very well be a leading argument in athletics throughout the next decade.

#6) Tom Watson on the brink of the British Open: All he needed was an 8-foot putt. That was it and 59-year old Tom Watson would be the British Open champion. It was not to be as he missed the putt and lost in a playoff.

But Watson became something new for golf to hang its hat on. A record-breaking veteran who was much closer to the Senior Open than the British. But on this weekend Watson didn’t play with the best, he led the best. Do you even remember who actually won the British Open? It was Stewart Cink.

Even he realized he was playing second chair to history.

#5) Urban Meyer resigns, then takes leave: This obviously just happened over the weekend, but was there a bigger story in college football this year? No. Not close. A coach decides to take a leave of absence due to stress-induced health problems. In other words, his job is hurting his health.

A sign of weakness in football is probably the best decision Meyer has ever made. Said one of his daughters: “we get our daddy back.”

Meyer won two national championships in five years, coached Tim Tebow and had Florida as the premiere program in college football. There were years of titanic matchups with Nick Saban and Alabama ahead. Now, everything is uncertain. Now, every coach can sit back and question where their commitments lay, because the best of them did. Health or football.

Sometimes, no, all the time, it is okay to side with your health. Urban Meyer made it okay.

#4) Jimmie Johnson dominates NASCAR — again: Four years in a row. Just let that settle. No one had ever done it before. Until now. Until maybe the most dominant racer in NASCAR history just continued his run, winning his fourth-straight cup championship.

Johnson had seven wins in 2009, including four in the Chase. He led for the final seven Chase races. The 141-point gap between Johnson and Mark Martin was the largest Johnson has ever had in his four championships. This was despite having his worst average finish at 11.1.

The native Californian eclipsed $7 million in earnings for the fourth-straight year and seemingly his only question now is whether his endorsements will begin to take off anytime soon. The AP named Johnson the 2009 male athlete of the year.

#3) The Hand of Thierry Henry: Only in soccer. In any other sport if you cheat in the game, and don’t get caught, it is a 24-hour story at the worst. Thierry Henry will live with the moment he handed a ball to himself, leading the goal that clinched a World Cup birth for France, for the rest of his life.

Even he said the game should be replayed.

And in soccer, this is worse than being on steroids. Far worse. The claims were made that he should have put his hand up and admitted it. Or not gone to the World Cup. In America, there would be not second thought about this (outside soccer). Winning is what matters. Let’s be honest, the commercial where the kid tells his coach that he actually knocked the ball out of bounds, come on.

In addition to all of this, Henry wasn’t exactly the most well-liked player in the first place. He was the target of much racism, the bananas sticking out right now, meaning this is no help to him at all. Well, except maybe in France, where World Cup scandal is becoming the norm. Zenedine Zidane anyone?

#2) Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz — guess: Call it the year of the apology, or the sexual stimulant. This is evidently what happens when you move to L.A., right Manny? Seriously, Alex Rodriguez was already hated all over the country. He admits to steroid use in a revealing but incredibly painful interview with Peter Gammons (who, by the way has left ESPN, a great journalist) and guess what, people forgive. Or at least they don’t hate him as much as Roger Clemens and some guy named Barry.

Those two are disgraced. Rodriguez and Andy Pettitte hoisted a World Series trophy. It’s like your parents always told you, tell the truth and apologize. It actually works in real life.

As far as Manny and Ortiz are concerned, let’s not be surprised. Manny served his 50-game suspension and teams could actually get him out for once. Ortiz hasn’t been able to hit a baseball since Republicans controlled Congress (okay, maybe 2007), so his use seemed unimportant at this point. That, and baseball loves David Ortiz. If you say you don’t like him, you’re lying. He’s a great competitor, teammate and act. Those two, Johnny Damon and Kevin Millar were the best thing to happen to the Boston Red Sox since Babe Ruth. Before he left.

Although only one major league, Ramirez, tested positive for steroids in 2009, it is still clearly on the minds of fans and legislators. The question is, for how long?

#1) Tiger Woods: The most expensive golf swing of Tiger Woods’ life and he didn’t even take it. The night Woods crashed his SUV into a fire hydrant and tree would have been bad enough. But the second his wife, Elin Nordegren, put that wood through the back window, it was over.

This is not Kobe Bryant or even Michael Jordan. This is Tiger Woods, the most marketed and loved athlete ever. Period.

The number one reason Woods was loved was because of his clean cut life, perfect family and different looking face in the game of golf. That was three reasons, but they all melded together to create a perfectly crafted image, with very little look into his private life.

Now everyone knows his private life. They know about all of the women. The word steroids has been whispered (but not even close to proven). And the greatest athlete of the last 15 years, the highest paid athlete ever and the most recognized face in the world, has fallen off of a pedestal that no athlete had ever even reached.

Whether he ever makes even close to that level again, well this is maybe the most uncharted territory there has ever been in sports.

It seems to become the theme more and more each year, the scandals that is. Yes, there are positives, but in this year that saw Twitter become the most dangerous medium we’ve maybe ever seen, allowing video, photography and news to be disseminated in seconds, it is hard to believe the scandals will lesson. People like to take athletes down as opposed to building them up.

So here’s a shout to the Tom Watsons, Jimmie Johnsons, the two University of Puget Sound softball players that carried and injured opponent around the bases after she hit a homerun, a kid in L.A. that, through illness, inspired the USC team and one more with autism that hit three after three after three…

All the way into 2010. Happy New Year.


Tagged: Alex Rodriguez, Chris Henry, Cincinnati Bengals, David Ortiz, Florida Gators, Jimmie Johnson, Johnny Damon, Manny Ramirez, New York Yankees, Pat Summitt, Serena Williams, Tennessee Volunteers, Thierry Henry, Tiger Woods, Tom Watson, Urban Meyer ]]> http://jbjsports.wordpress.com/2009/12/30/2009-top-ten-sports-stories/feed/ 0 Benton Urban Meyer http://jbjsports.wordpress.com/2009/12/29/favre-manning-headline-nfl-pro-bowl-teams/ http://jbjsports.wordpress.com/2009/12/29/favre-manning-headline-nfl-pro-bowl-teams/#comments Wed, 30 Dec 2009 03:28:57 +0000 Benton http://jbjsports.wordpress.com/?p=1432 Read more]]> Eight Minnesota Vikings and six Indianapolis Colts lead the two 2010 NFL Pro Bowl teams.



Brett Favre is headed back to the Pro Bowl.


The Vikings Brett Favre will actually backup New Orleans’ quarterback Drew Brees, who had the Saints at 13-0 before dropping their last two games.

Joining Favre are Vikings’ teammates Adrian Peterson (RB), Sydney Rice (WR), Steve Hutchinson (G), Bryant McKinnie (T), Jared Allen (DE), Kevin Williams (DE) and Heath Farwell (ST).

Philadelphia has six players on the NFC squad, led by DeSean Jackson, who was chosen as a wide receiver and kick returner.

On the AFC side the quarterback selections had to be the most obvious, led by Peyton Manning and backup by Tom Brady and Philip Rivers.

Chris Johnson (Tennessee), the league’s leading rusher will start at running back, while Andre Johnson (Houston) and Reggie Wayne (Indy) are the top two wideouts.

Easily the biggest surprise is the lack of Cincinnati Bengals on the team. The Bengals clinched a playoff spot for just the second time in the last 19 years.

The 2010 Pro Bowl will be held in Miami on Jan. 31. See more about the NFL Pro Bowl here.


Tagged: Brett Favre, NFL Pro Bowl, Peyton Manning ]]> http://jbjsports.wordpress.com/2009/12/29/favre-manning-headline-nfl-pro-bowl-teams/feed/ 0 Benton Brett Favre http://jbjsports.wordpress.com/2009/12/29/ucla-wins-eaglebank-bowl/ http://jbjsports.wordpress.com/2009/12/29/ucla-wins-eaglebank-bowl/#comments Wed, 30 Dec 2009 00:47:51 +0000 Benton http://jbjsports.wordpress.com/?p=1428 Read more]]> For a half it looked like Temple, the team from Philadelphia that was used to the frigid conditions in Washington, would run away with this one.

Master motivator Rick Neuheisal had other ideas.

The UCLA head coach, in a bowl game for the first time since 2002, when he was the head coach at Washington, had t-shirts made saying, “our finest hour.” In the second half, it was.

Kevin Prince completed 16-of-21 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns before leaving with an injury during UCLA’s final drive, leading the Bruins to a 30-21 victory in the EagleBank Bowl Tuesday night in Washington.

For the Bruins the second half was all about defense. Akeem Ayers had a interception return for a touchdown to give UCLA its first lead in the fourth quarter. It was the second interception of the half for the UCLA defense.

The half also saw the Bruins hold Temple on fourth down in the redzone and force a quick three-and-out on Temple’s final drive, that resulted in a long snap over the head of the punter and out of the back of the endzone.

The Bruins win bring the evens the bowl record for the Pac-10 at 2-2.


Tagged: Akeem Ayers, Kevin Prince, Rick Neuheisal, Temple, UCLA ]]> http://jbjsports.wordpress.com/2009/12/29/ucla-wins-eaglebank-bowl/feed/ 1 Benton http://jbjsports.wordpress.com/2009/12/29/tuesday-links/ http://jbjsports.wordpress.com/2009/12/29/tuesday-links/#comments Tue, 29 Dec 2009 19:12:51 +0000 Benton http://jbjsports.wordpress.com/?p=1424 Read more]]> Straight to it:
• Things are going to get ugly for Mike Leach and his well connected accuser.
• Top ten athletes that don’t play in America.
• Kevin Blackistone says there is no excuse for abusive coaches.
• Simple task for the Jets — win and their in.
• In the category of things on their way to getting ugly, the Rockets and Tracy McGrady are already there.
• In yet another sign of my plummeting record picking games, Georgia absolutely dominated Texas A&M last night.

Tagged: Georgia, Houston Rockets, Mike Leach, New York Jets, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Tracy McGrady ]]> http://jbjsports.wordpress.com/2009/12/29/tuesday-links/feed/ 0 Benton http://jbjsports.wordpress.com/2009/12/29/bears-cutler-pull-ot-upset/ http://jbjsports.wordpress.com/2009/12/29/bears-cutler-pull-ot-upset/#comments Tue, 29 Dec 2009 05:24:26 +0000 Benton http://jbjsports.wordpress.com/?p=1422 Read more]]> For a minute, or several really, it looked the ageless wonder was going to do it again.

His team came out as flat as it ever has, his line couldn’t block a lick and he couldn’t hold onto a hard, frozen football. No matter. He is Brett Favre.

But tonight, he was outdone by Jay Cutler.

After the Vikings staged a furious comeback in the games final minutes and Robbie Gould missed a field goal in the first overtime drive, Cutler responded to a turnover by hitting a wide open Devin Aromashodu for a 39-yard, game-winning touchdown.

Cutler was 20-of-35 for 273 yards and four touchdowns. His biggest throw came following yet another Adrian Peterson fumble.

In the first half it looked like the Bears were going to run away with the game. Gould kicked three field goals and Cutler had his first TD pass as Chicago took a 16-0 lead into the locker room.

Minnesota scored first in the second half, but missed the extra point, a crucial miss in a game that went to overtime. After another Cutler touchdown pass, the Vikings scored the next 17 points to tie the game.

A big return by Danieal Manning, his second of the game, set Chicago up for an easy 20 yard touchdown pass to give Chicago the lead.

That left things up to Favre again and he delivered like he has done for 19 years. On 4th and goal in what would essentially be the last chance for Minnesota to tie the game, Favre hit Sydney Rice on a perfect throw for a touchdown, sending the game to overtime and setting up Cutler’s heroics.

The Vikings’ loss clinches the NFC’s top seed for New Orleans.


Tagged: Adrian Peterson, Brett Favre, Chicago Bears, Danieal Manning, Jay Cutler, Minnesota Vikings, Robbie Gould, Sydney Rice ]]> http://jbjsports.wordpress.com/2009/12/29/bears-cutler-pull-ot-upset/feed/ 0 Benton http://jbjsports.wordpress.com/2009/12/28/bowl-predictions-volume-2/ http://jbjsports.wordpress.com/2009/12/28/bowl-predictions-volume-2/#comments Mon, 28 Dec 2009 22:40:35 +0000 Benton http://jbjsports.wordpress.com/?p=1417 Read more]]> And it can’t be any worse than the first version. After watching the first three games, the tallying of the picks just stopped. It was a 180 degree flip from the success picking regular season games. These will go through Dec. 31, at which point the real games begin.

AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl: Texas A&M vs. Georgia – Dec. 28: Most likely this year’s winner for most ridiculously named bowl. It could also quite likely be the highest scoring game. Defense? We’re talking about defense? C’mon man. Okay, so maybe there was some creative editing there, but seriously. Georgia has the 30th-ranked defense in the country, which makes it good that they punt it better than anyone else. Of course, that doesn’t seem so bad, but they are going up against the 5th best offense in A&M. Remember all those point the Aggies poured on Texas? Right. In the same total defense stat, A&M is 107th. Ouch. So even Georgia’s 73rd-ranked offense should score some points. Honestly, this one is a toss up. The Bulldogs got a couple of nice late wins, against Auburn and Georgia Tech, but A&M very nearly clipped Texas, which is better than any team mentioned so far. Plus the A&M offense is deadly.

Texas A&M 45, Georgia 35

Eagle Bank Bowl: UCLA vs. Temple, Dec. 29: The Bruins travel all the way to Washington, D.C. to play in this one, in a game they probably shouldn’t even be in. A nice win at Tennessee made believers out of some, before a five-game losing streak was ended by the Washington schools (how many teams can say THAT in the last couple of years). Temple has some good wins as well, including Navy, but lost to FCS Villanova. They come in 112th in passing, against one of the best secondaries in the country. Try to throw and Rahim Moore, the nation’s leader in interceptions, may make you pay.

UCLA 24, Temple 17 – (And hold your breath picking the Pac-10)

Champs Sports Bowl: Miami vs. Wisconsin – Dec. 29: This one should be fun. You have the young, upstart Miami team (by the way, the ESPN 30-for-30 on Miami is a must-see, very well-done piece), against a Wisconsin team that does nothing exceptionally well, except stop the run. Well, this isn’t a Big Ten team. The Badgers can’t stack the line knowing their opponent is going to play smash mouth football. That was learned the hard way against Ohio State and Northwestern, both of whom run some version of the spread. Miami is in the top-30 in a bunch of categories and is going to spread the field and out-athlete Wisconsin considerably. And the game is in Orlando.

Miami 29, Wisconsin 20

Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl: Bowling Green vs. Idaho, Dec. 30: So yes, that should say “@ Idaho”, given the quick flight the Vandals will take to a place they have already played this year. The Vandals started the season 6-1, losing only to Washington, before dropped four of their last five. The nation’s 10th-best offense is led by senior Nathan Enderle, which should give the Vandals an advantage. That and Bowling Green lost to every good team it played this year, including a drubbing at the hands of Boise State.

Idaho 31, Bowling Green 20

Pacific Life Holiday Bowl: Arizona vs. Nebraska, Dec. 30: A game in which both teams were simply seconds away from so much more. By all accounts Nebraska and Bo Pelini’s second-ranked scoring defense had Texas beaten in the Big-12 title game. It was not to be. The same can be said about Mike Stoops’ Arizona team that needed only to beat Cal or Oregon to earn a trip to the Rose Bowl. Late in the Oregon game, the ‘Zona fans lined the field, ready to rush, but were held back, forced to wait for two overtimes and then disappointed. This comes down to whether Arizona can score on a good defense, because Nebraska probably won’t light it up. Nick Foles has proven to be an elite level quarterback since taking over the job, but the Wildcats’ running game is still a question. Plus, this just seems like one of those games the Pac-10 has been losing this bowl season.

Nebraska 17, Arizona 14

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl: Houston vs. Air Force, Dec. 31: While Air Force is playing in this game, the air attack will be coming from the other side and a kid name Case Keenum. Keenum threw for 5,449 yards and 43 touchdowns, with just nine interceptions. Houston was the best passing and total offense team in the country and the second-highest scoring. Their defense is awful, 108th, and they have some inexplicable losses (UTEP anyone?), but some very good wins against Oklahoma State and Texas Tech. Those two triumphs had Keenum in the Heisman conversation for a while. What makes this such an interesting matchup is that Air Force is the best pass defense team in the land, allowing just 149 yards per game. Houston averages 450 yards in the air. Unstoppable object meets immovable force. However, in AF’s last game, Max Hall threw for 377 yards and five touchdowns. That is closer to what Keenum might do than the 149 yards.

Houston 38, Air Force 21

Brut Sun Bowl: Oklahoma vs. Stanford, Dec. 31: First get one thing clear, El Paso is actually a great place to watch a bowl game. And that’s about it. But this is an intriguing matchup of a team that just had a frustrating season against one that was a revelation. Stanford and their Heisman finalist running back Toby Gerhart, were the darlings of the Pac-10 this fall, running over USC and Oregon, only to fall to Arizona, Cal and Oregon State. Oklahoma is still fairly depleted and frankly no one has been able to stop Gerhart, who has rushed for at 123 yards in eight of his last nine games. In his last four games he has 13 touchdowns. And one more as a passer. Yeah, stop that. This would be a good win for the Pac-10 regardless of how bad the Sooners are.

Stanford 29, Oklahoma 20

Texas Bowl: Navy vs. Missouri, Dec. 31: The spread against the triple option. Either old football coaches are rolling over in their graves or brimming with excitement. Navy has a couple of awful losses, Temple and Hawaii, with wins over Notre Dame, Air Force and Wake Forest. Missouri has been much easier to figure out, beating everyone they are better than and losing to everyone that is better than them. Navy, if they play like it, is better than Mizzou.

Navy 25, Missouri 24

Insight Bowl: Minnesota vs. Iowa State, Dec. 31: Paul Rhoads is the 2009 coach of the year, taking maybe the worst BCS program and winning six games, after Iowa State had seen some of the worst football ever. They were so bad that their last coach, Gene Chizik, didn’t even get blamed when he got a promotion to Auburn. Problem is, ISU isn’t really good at anything, ranked 75th or worse in total offense and total defense. Their bad at special teams too, ranking 104th in punt returns. Minnesota isn’t a whole lot better, having scored just 13 points in their last two games. Here’s guessing this one is won on special teams, with the good Gopher return game.

Minnesota 19, Iowa State 17

Chick-fil-A Bowl: Virginia Tech vs. Tennessee, Dec. 31: Call this the one where you just throw the two names into a hat. Honestly, Tennessee is on the way up under Lane Kiffin. But when you are getting caught cheating so much in recruiting that your coach is trying to spin it as a good thing, something is going wrong. Not only that, but the fans in Knoxville love it. The Vols had a rough start, but won four of their last five and six of their last eight, while only losing to Alabama thanks to two blocked field goals. They lost to Florida and Bama by a combined 12 points. They are average at just about anything, but very good at defensive pass efficiency, which won’t mean a whole lot against VT. Tech is on a four-game win streak, having beaten no one, and have a much better defense that offense. In reality, both of these teams have strong defenses, who’s speed will probably neutralize both offenses. Here is the detailed prediction: somewhere in the third or fourth quarter, Eric Berry, maybe the greatest safety in SEC history (numbers-wise anyway) will make a big play, an interception, and get a defensive score. That will decide a great game.

Tennessee 19, Virginia Tech 17

Things are gonna be better this time. More later.


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